Promise
by Notorious P.A.T
Summary: Sequel to Autumn Leaves. The tamers are off to the digital world, but what surprises are waiting for them? What light of hope do they have against this new enemy? And who will become tainted by the Darkness? Promise... is about to get a WHOLE lot darker.
1. A Moment

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A/N: (smiles) Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back! Its so nice to see you all again! I hope you all like what is to come! Today's chapter is brought to you in part by the letter, Q, and in thanks to Livin' Notorious Productions. I don't want to waste any more time. Let it begin. Love and be loved. Read… and review. Peace!  
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A Moment

Some say… war is hell. These people, obviously, have never had to sit through the last few moments of the LAST day of school for the year! Those seconds have NEVER ticked by slower. Honestly, they just don't go any slower then those last few moments. Oh, and don't even get me started on the last hours! They last longer then a Rip Van Winkle nap! I sit alone at my desk, trying to gather my thoughts on what is to be coming up after this last TWO minutes. Henry, Rika, and I had agreed, six months ago, that it would be best **not** to tell anyone else about the portal. Henry came up with the idea, but I wasn't about to bite. However, he somehow convinced Rika to agree, and majority ruled. I'm still not sure how he convinced her, but she assures me it was for her own reasons. "Whatever." I let escape my lips while thinking about it.

I leaned back in my seat, and looked around. Everyone was talking amongst themselves, about what they were going to do with their summer time, which celebrity was the hottest, some saying their good-byes (even though they're going to see each other during the summer anyway), and some counting down the final seconds with others. Only one thing was constant, everyone was talking with someone else, except me and the person next to me. I looked to my right, and there sat Henry, lost in his own world, collecting his own thoughts probably. We didn't normally sit next to each other in class, but the teacher wasn't in the room, she was out talking with the other teachers about the end of the day as well. Also, it wasn't technically the last day, but the eighth grade class gets out a day before the rest of the school.

I peeled my eyes from Henry and gazed out the window and was met with a surprising site.

Rika was leaning up against a tree some sixty plus yards away from the window. I knew she was out of school. Her school had started earlier then ours, and hence, was out before us. She's been out about a week now, and she, Henry, and I had been spending this time to make preparations for leaving. We were prepared to tell everyone after school today, but we had to be quick because graduation was tonight. But what was she doing here?

I looked up to the clock again, '_almost a minute_' I thought. 64… 63… 62… 61…

"60… 59… 58…" I said quietly to no one, to try and get a reaction from Henry, but to no avail. I watched the clock tick down some more. In no time it would be over and we'd be free… but not for long. These people, well some of them, wouldn't be free for long. They'd be in caught up in an adventure they're not expecting. They'll be in the digital world, reunited with the best friends they've ever had!

"20… 19… 18… 17… 16… 15… 14… 13… 12… 11… 10… 9…" everyone in the class started chanting, and could be heard up and down the halls.

I looked at Henry and he looked back, we stood up with everyone, and started yelling with them, "8… 7… 6… 5… 4…"

I looked around me as some were already going crazy, and chaos ensued. Kenta was standing on two desks that were together chanting and pumping his fist like Tiger Woods with every single number, completely out of character with his nature! Kenta was literally waving his chair around like a medieval sword in a riot-like fashion. Jeri was dancing with some of the other girls in the corner, and suddenly I saw Henry toss his chair out of the way as he started to run for the exit, obviously wanting to be remembered for leaving before time was up. In a fit of spontaneity I quickly threw my chair to floor as well and started to run behind him, holding my fist up in a "V is for Victory" type fashion you would only see from an NFL quarterback celebrating after throwing the game-winning touchdown. Right about now… chaos didn't seem to be good enough to describe it. "3… 2…"

We plowed through the classroom door together at the 'two' and finally "1!"

Yells of happiness were heard as the final bell rang and Henry and I had a clean path to the doors out of the school, with no one else in the halls. I turned my neck around while running to see Kazu running with the chair in his hand still and a few janitors chasing after him. I laughed out loud and turned back to look ahead, to see Henry much further ahead because I had slowed down while looking behind. I picked up my speed and started a full out sprint and passed him in the last 15 feet from the doors, burst through, jumped down the stone steps and hit the ground running. I stopped after a few steps and turned around to see Henry bursting through as he too jumped the steps, Kazu followed shortly, but no longer with the chair in his hands, probably leaving it behind to lose his chasers. He, however, did not jump the steps, but rather walked down them slowly with both hands in the air holding up his index fingers in celebration of being out of school, and he, again thinking of football, looked like he had just scored a touchdown. I smiled at him, and realized what idiots we were acting like. I heaved in a heavy sigh of relief… school was over for the summer. '_And what a summer it will be._' I thought to myself. Kazu reached the bottom of the steps just as the rest of the school came pouring out around him. He slowly walked over to us, breathing heavily. "Takato… whatever it is you want to talk about now… (heavy breath) it better be good."

I smiled, shook my head. "It'll be more then you could have ever dreamed about." I assured him.

He gave me a disbelieving face, gave Henry an acknowledging nod, turned heel, and started walking back to school doors, but stopped short of the steps, as younger students flowed around him, with almost a foot of radius around him, almost as if they're was some kind of invisible force field between 'the graduate' and 'the student.'

"KENTA! GET OUT HERE CHUMLY!" he screamed into the school, rather then walk in and get Kenta himself. I laughed at his laziness, but my mirth was cut short as I was suddenly blinded by nothingness. Suddenly my senses were hyphened; my body tight, and my muscles became tense. Someone's hands were clapped around my eyes, but no one I knew was behind me, because I could see Henry next to me right before everything went dark. I extended my arms out a bit, and got ready to elbow whoever was behind me in the stomach when my silent assassin spoke. "Guess who?"

As I heard the heavenly voice echo through my head my body became loose, as I realized who was behind me, and felt stupid for not realizing it right away. "Now c'mon, Simon Green. You know the issue isn't racial." I jokingly said, sadly though, probably not to her understanding.

"What the hell?" she said.

I reached up and pulled her hands away, turned around, and hugged the (dare I say it?) _love_ of my life. In all honesty, we hadn't used the word 'love' in any context for one another since that fateful day last winter, which was kind of sad, considering what such a huge step forward it had been. We broke apart, and I laughed at her for not knowing what my joke was from. "Watch any movies recently?" I asked, and she gave me a very confused look.

"Never mind." I said.  
"Whatever you say." She responded.

I turned to see the last few students, including many of my friends walking out of the school. Kenta came stumbling down the steps to Kazu and a lot of people came towards Henry, and Rika, as well as me. Now or never, "Are you people ready for the surprise of the summer?" I asked.

"I doubt it'll be the surprise of my **summer**, maybe the day." Called out Kazu, and everyone laughed.  
"Okay, maybe you're right," I led them on, "the surprise of your **life**."

By now everyone else had cleared out and it was only us Tamers left, as we stood close to one another, and they were about to receive a shock to their systems.

I'm sure none of them consciously realized we were all the same people that fought the D-Reaper last year, maybe sub-consciously they were thinking "Hey, weren't we all a team at one point?" Well, we were, and we'll always be remembered for our heroics last year. My point being, however, that we were going to be a team again! I smiled and looked around at them, '_yeah, this feels right._'  
"It was… one year ago, that we fought for the good of two words…" I started, and saw as some of their faces dropped already knowing where I was going with this, and wanting to be spared awkward stares, looked to the ground.

"… Side by side, mind you. We were a great team! The best! But we were flawed." I added. Some of those who had turned their faces to the ground looked up at me.

"We were flawed, in what we didn't know, but would soon find out… That our partners, **our** **best friends**, would be leaving us soon."  
Now everyone was staring at me, and I felt an uneasiness. _Now or Never! _"I am here today, to tell you that this 'flaw,' this horrible loss… was not whole in itself. Our partners, **our** **best friends**, have never left us… completely." I added at the end, because of some of the sudden stares.

I licked my lips, trying to get a second wind. It was crazy thinking about how they were going to react, and how I could possibly be here, leading them on. "(pause) Who remembers going to the digital world." I asked of them.

Kazu chortled, "Who **doesn't** remember it?"  
"Then, Kazu, tell me how we got there?"  
"That portal under the old hideout." He said, impatience all about his tone. "C'mon Takato, what are you trying to say?"

"We all remember when they left us… and we all wish we could see them, just one more time, even for… a day! A minute! A moment! Any time at all, just to be with them again. But only one thing stands between us and going to see them, and its that damn portal we need." I said, completely ignoring Kazu's question.

"Damn it Takato, what are you trying to say!?" Kazu yelled at me.

I calmed my voice to almost a whisper like sound. "What I'm trying to say is… what if that portal we went through the first time… never left. What if it was still waiting there? Still underneath the old hideout? **STILL** accessible?"

I looked around and everyone was looking at me with open mouths and wide eyed questioning looks. _Now or Never!_ "Still… still open and waiting for us to go through and see our partners again, even if it's just for a moment?"

"Takato… are you trying to say that…" Kazu started but stopped.  
"What I'm saying is maybe you should go to the old hangout and check what going-away present Guilmon left us, buried about three feet deep." I said, with a bit of a smirk, a bit of smugness, a bit of arrogance… a bit of pride about myself.  
Everyone stood around for a few more seconds, looking at each other, probably daring one another with their eyes to be the first to start running. It didn't last long because Kazu opened his mouth and closed his eyes, and it seemed like he was prepared to make a profound statement. However, he then began a sprint straight for the park, without even a breath of air for caring if the other followed.

But they followed anyway, one by one, until only Henry, Rika, and I were left standing around. "So how'd I do?" I asked them.

"Ugh nothing special." Henry said.  
"Could have been better. You obviously weren't up to par on this one." Rika added.  
I laughed at their sarcasm, "I know… I know… I'll try better next time I have to break some incredibly serious news to our best friends."

This made them laugh, but underneath all three of us knew what this meant. Now… now we were going to have to prepare for our journey to the digital world. There was no way around it. We had to prepare for, essentially, the unpredictable. _It certainly will be interesting.  
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We slowly made our way to the park, and to the old hangout, out of Takato's suggestion. We got there just as the last person, Jeri, was climbing out of the hole. We were bombarded with questions about why we hadn't told them before, how soon we had to wait before we left, what else we were keeping from them before finally Henry stood up to everyone and said, "These are all great questions, but who cares what the answers are? We'll leave when everyone, and that means every single person, is ready and prepared to leave. We still have to tell our parents about this, and explain to them that we want to leave them for the summer and go back to the digital world. Put some thought into your questions, guys. Lets be sensible about this, we need to get everyone on the same page, which we can do in some time, before we wander right into the digital world with no protection, and no digimon to protect us from harm. We need to get our act together and be prepare for the unexpected."

Everyone seemed to quiet down, and we started to disperse. It was late and they all still had graduation tonight! But tomorrow, we had to get straight to work on getting back to the digital world!

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A/N: Hmm… it was good, right? Ugh, could have definitely been better, especially the ending, but whatever, Henry's a stand up guy so w/e. I tried to be descriptive with their riot-like celebration, but just imagine that with a lot more craziness. I thought it was hilarious, but whatever. Sorry there really wasn't too much romantics in this chapter, but this is sort of gonna be more of a adventurous/romantic story. Hope you enjoyed it. Btw- that whole "guess who?" joke about the movies, just look up 'guess who' on like Google and look for the movie. You'll get it (the joke) if you've seen the movie. Please review. Oh, who likes the new endings to my authors notes? Okay, peace.

Love Always. Rukato Forever.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"  
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	2. A Promise

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A/N: Hello! Good to see you again. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, because I enjoyed typing it. The following is brought to you in thanks to Livin' Notorious Productions. Let the second chapter begin. Love and be loved. Read… and review. Peace!  
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A Promise

_I'm either bopping my head  
or I'm just standing there watching  
__I'ma hustler I hustle,  
you can tell that I'm paid  
__And I protect what I got;  
I'm in a house with my-_

"TAKATO!" I heard someone scream at me.  
I stop my CD player and look up and see Rika about eight feet away with an angry look on her face.  
_Uh-oh. _I flash a smile at her and take the headphones off. _Play innocent and you can never go wrong!_ "Hello Swee-"  
"Don't you try and sweet talk me! You said you'd come to my house and we would walk here TOGETHER!"  
"I know… but it was just that… it was twice the distance for me, and I thought-"  
"You THOUGHT!? YOU THOUGHT!? YOU should not have had ANYTHING to THINK about!" she screamed at me.

I looked down at my shoes and felt defeated. See, I was supposed to go to Rika's and we would walk here, the old hangout, together. I, however, realized how retarded this was on my behalf and just stopped when I got here and started listening to my CD. A big mistake you say? 'Big' doesn't fit the context of the situation… it's much worse.

I smile again, walk over and give start to give her a hug, but before I can get my arms around her she pushes me and I fall to the ground.  
I look up at her disappointed, but she shatters my look with her stare as cold as anything I've ever seen!  
"Is it too late to say I'm sorry?" I offer.  
"Yes, it is." she says coolly.  
_Ouch!_ "Too late to beg for forgiveness?" I ask.  
"Yep."  
"Well… how can I **_possibly_** make it up to you?"

She looks at my CD player sitting on the ground and gives it a devious look. "Break your CD and promise you'll never break a promise to me again."  
I give her an upset/shocked look. She knows I just got that CD, but if I don't do as she says I could be in some deep shit. "Alright."  
She looks a little taken aback. "Really?"  
"You know I'd do anything for you."

She smiles brightly at this, goes and picks up my CD player, pops it open, and hands it to me. "Okay, you do the honors."  
I stare it down, giving it a pleading look, begging for forgiveness. Then I lift my knees cap up, and bring the CD down hard on it, feeling a sharp sting in the pit of my stomach as I watch the CD crack into several pieces.  
I watch the last few pieces fall to the ground, and look at her. "Happy?"

"No. Now promise you'll never break another promise to me ever again."

I look at her thinking '_Isn't that redundant?_' "Alright, I, Takato Matsuda, promise to you, Rika Nonaka, that I will never break another promise I make to you for as long as I live, so help me God, I pray that you may show mercy when you kill me."

"Who show mercy? Me or God?" she asks.  
"You, obviously."  
She laughs aloud at this, and I **finally** get my hands around her as I give her a hug… _this is where I belong_.  
"Would you two get a room!" some yells not too far off.

I don't let go, but turn to see Henry walking towards us. A long ways behind him come Kazu, Kenta, Jeri and… What the hell!?!  
Walking besides Jeri and talking to her is Ryo Akiyama! What the fuck is he doing with them? Who invited him? "How's your dignity doing since last night Takato? Is it broken? And your pride, shattered?" Henry says to me.

I turn from looking at Ryo in the distance and give Henry a dissatisfied look, laugh at him, and take a full out swing at him. He was too far for me to have hit him even if I had wanted to, but he ducked and moved away regardless laughing all the way. Kazu and Kenta come running the last bit of the way to find out what Henry is laughing about, yet I find myself looking back up at Jeri and Ryo. What the hell was he doing here? Did one of them invite him to come? Did Rika invite him? We never really talked about our crushes before we started dating, but I know she had one on him for a while… apparently during the summer we were apart. Luckily though, Ryo seemed to have disappeared off the radar more so then Rika had during that summer. Kazu and Kenta claim they still talked to him and that they were becoming better card players from his lessons, but that's just talk… and talk is cheap.

I look at Rika and she doesn't seem to have noticed because she just gives me an odd look because of my stare and smiles. I smile back, and walk over to Henry as Kazu and Kenta continue to rant about this or that. I get as close to Henry as I can, so no one else can hear what I'm going to say, "What's Ryo doing here?"

He gives me an odd look, turns to look at Ryo, and turns back to me and says, "Kazu and Kenta called him about the portal. Hey! I'm not any happier about it then you are, but he's a nice guy so whatever."

I look discomforted but nodded and turn back to Rika who seems to have finally noticed Ryo's fast approaching. She sort of looked tense, and in thought. Most likely trying to figure out quick comebacks to whatever he would throw at her. I can't blame her though, because for some odd reason… he created tension around the both of us.

He and Jeri stopped talking just as they were reaching the group and he seemed to not notice the cold stare I was giving him. I didn't like him too much anymore… if at all. He was staring at Rika with a smirk on and (in my opinion) a lustful look in his eyes. "Hey Rika."  
She gave him an angry look and I thought she might try to make him into a frozen icicle with such a cold stare… colder then anything I had ever seen. "What are **you** doing here?"

"I heard about the portal and just thought I'd come along for the ride." He said. "Plus- why would I **dare** pass up a chance to see your pretty little face?"  
He still didn't seem to notice me staring him down… or me standing there… or even that ANYONE else was there. Nevertheless, Rika didn't respond immediately and he took it upon himself to try and get a little closer to **_his_** dream girl. He started to walk towards her, and I took a step in between the two, staring into his eyes, daring him to try and get past me.

He gave me a confused look but didn't seem to make any kind of connection there might be. He side stepped me to his left and kept on walking. I turned around grabbed his right shoulder and he spun around and… _WHAK_!

"_Back off Matsuda…_"  
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"_Takato!_ _Ta_kato! Takato?"

Someone was calling me… a long way off and I couldn't make out who it was but I could hear my name. I tried to open my eyes but they wouldn't budge. I moved my fingers around and felt hard ground on their tips. Ground? How did I…

'Ryo!'

I force my eyes to open and see that I'm surrounded by everyone. Regardless, Rika is the first face I see when I sit up and she has a look of concern and worry about her, but I can also sense anger and frustration from her as well. Before anyone can say anything I ask, "Where is he?"  
"He left… we told him to." Rika tells me.  
"I'll gonna kill him." I say, beginning to sit up.

But Henry pushes me back to the ground. "You're not gonna do anything."

I give him an angry look but I know he's right. 'What an ass hole?' I think to myself… about Ryo of course. I wonder if anyone told him about me and Rika after he hit me? I'll ask later, now is not the time. "So we gotta get to work on planning this trip." I say, with a smile on.  
Some of them smile, and Henry even laughs at my pathetic, yet successful, attempt to change the subject. "Sounds good to me." Rika says smiling at me, which I've grown accustomed to. It's both beautiful and rare… and deadly combination.

"Takato… let me ask you this; How does it feel to have, one, had your dignity taken away, and then, two, been knocked out in one punch from Ryo Akiyama?" Kazu asks a foot or two away.

Rika gives me a questioning look, and I get up and give a quick threatening step towards Kazu, whose immediate response is to turn and run. Everyone laughs and I turn to see Rika still giving a questioning look. "Hold Up!" I yell over everyone's laughing.

Now THEY all give me questioning looks. "Rika doesn't know what happen yet." I say out loud, knowing I'm about to be humiliated.  
Everyone jumped at a chance to tell her just how my dignity came to be broken, but none faster then Kazu.  
"So, last night, it's graduation, a time for elegance, style, grace, and celebration." He leads her on. "But not for Takato."

Rika smiles as he builds up the suspense of my woeful story. "We practiced, and practiced, and practiced some more for the big night, two weeks before graduation, and everything went off without a hitch. However, we're not talkin' about practice. We're talkin' about graduation!" he laughs to himself.  
"Anyway, we get there, blah blah blah, fast forward to we're walking down the isle to take our seats and guess what Takato does? No, don't guess, I'll tell you. Poor, poor Takato here he… well he tripped and fell flat on his face in front of EVERYONE!"

Everyone laughs again, and this makes me feel uneasy, knowing I'm being made fun of. Rika laughs a little bit, but then turns to me and gives me such a smile; I forgot there was even anyone else around.

She always knew how to melt me with that stare… but before it used to be by it being so cold… now it's because it's so wonderful.  
I come to my senses and look around. The laughter has died down and only a few people are still chuckling to themselves. "Everyone good?" I ask them.  
Everyone smiles and nods and finally I am able to move past this. "Alright, now that you've all got that out of your systems, we can get serious about this. We need to prepare for everything and anything while were in the digital world. Remember, when we get there, we're not gonna have anyone to protect us. I don't have ANY idea what were gonna do about that, but some way, somehow… we'll find a way."

Everyone is quiet now, and it gives me a feeling of importance, like I'm the center of attention. "The first thing we have to do… is tell our parents."  
There's some moans and groans from the group, but I know they'll listen to reason. "We have to do it guys. We have to-"  
"- Stealing my speech?" Henry asks.  
I smirk at him, and realize that he's right. "And if I am?" I ask.  
"Just wanted to be clear about it, that's all."  
"Okay, so can I talk now?"  
"Go ahead."

I pause for a moment. There's really no reason to go on now, he just pretty much ruined my moment. "Damn it, Henry! You stole my thunder!"

Some people laugh out loud while some just smile at it. When everyone just clams down I start again. "Whatever. But here's what I'm trusting you all with- go home and tell your parents about this. (short pause) Alright, see ya later."

Everyone stands up from either laying on the ground or sitting cross legged or whatever position they were in and actually start to leave. They leave in groups, and talking about this or that, but when everyone is gone only one person is left standing and waiting for me. I smile as I walk up to her and stick my hand out for her to hold. "Hey there sunshine."

She gives a snicker, but ignores the pet name I just called her. "You wanna come with me to my house when I tell my mom? 'Cuz, ya know, she likes you and it would just make it easier."

I didn't even bother turning it over in my head. "If that's what you want."  
"Don't worry, it is. Thanks."  
I gave her a big smile and she finally grabs hold of my hand. "Ready to go?"

She looks at me concerned. "This is some deep stuff, Takato. We're talking about going back to the digital world unprotected. If anything goes wrong before we meet up with our partners… or hell any friendly digimon, we could… we could die!"

"I know… I know. Don't think I haven't thought about it. We're just going to have to hope for the best… and… and…" I stopped because I didn't know where I was going with this.

"And what?" she asked in all-seriousness.

I searched for an answer and finally came up with one. "And the people at Hypnos will know what to do."  
She brightened up after hearing this and must have made the same realization as I did, that in fact- we did have a plan for what to do. We just needed help making it from some people that had an idea of what they're doing. "So, ready to go **now**?"

"Most definitely."

So we made our way from the hideout and towards her house, I don't know if she was still angry at me or not for leaving her at her house this morning, but if she was, she sure wasn't letting it show. So I guess, in the end, I was right.

Play innocent… and you can never go wrong.

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A/N: What's going on people? Did you like it? All the cool kids liked it, so you better have liked it. Hahaha. Sorry I'm having a little trouble updating, it's just kind of hard to find time to type while dealing with school too. After XC I joined the track team (HUGE F-CKING MISTAKE!), this time my parents didn't make me do it, so I only have myself to blame. Hopefully I'll have time to type during the Christmas break. I don't think there's too much to explain this time. Yeah, Takato is pretty weak if he can just take one unsuspecting punch to the face and be knocked out. Ryo, unfortunately, will be a major character in this story, where as in Autumn Leaves, he made but a few appearance (a couple of author's notes where I mentioned him… never even mentioned in the story line). Like I said in the last note, this is gonna be more of an adventure then a romance, with more drama in the middle, and most of the romance coming at the end. So they've found something, or rather someone's to help them make there way through the digital world, but will they be willing to help them, after all they went through with the first time they went into the digital world?¿ So, did anyone notice that this entire chapter was from Takato's POV? Autumn Leaves was based more around Rika (in my opinion anyway, and I'm the author) and this one is gonna be based more around Takato. Anyway, I'm working on chapter 3 so be prepared for when it eventually comes out. Also, for those of you who don't know, LivinAMovie Productions (my self-titled video making) and author Notorious P.A.T. (my self-titled story making) have formed a company partnership and the result is Livin' Notorious Productions. Thus every chapter is brought to by them. Pretty exciting, right? That was a joke people, so yes, it's okay to laugh. Alright, now go read Run (second chapters up)! Okay, peace!

Love Always. Rukato Forever.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"  
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	3. Rika's Mom

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A/N: What's up people? Okay, let he who throws the first stone be without sin! Please don't kill me for the title of this chapter, okay! It doesn't infer anything that has to do with the chapter, the story line, or anything at all! Love and be loved. Read… and review. Peace!  
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Rika's Mom

The leaves in Autumn are beautiful, with their colors of gold, red… wait a minute. Been here, done this. It's summer now! Takato and I are just making it out of the park now. We're talking about everything and nothing. What I mean to say, is that we're talking about **everything** that comes out of our mouths… while **nothing** that comes out is really important to why were going to my house. Are badinage quickly ends as we come into view of my house. We've both gone quiet silent, knowing what's to come, and the possible repercussions of the shock our parents will receive upon hearing the news.

"So do you mind if I bring my parents into this too?" he asks me.  
I look at him questioningly. "Like… to my house?"  
"Yeah. Kill three birds with one stone." He says, smiling.  
"Sure… why not? Just… call when we get in." I say uneasily… and he notices.  
"If you want us to just make sure it's okay with your mom right now, we can wait and tell my parents." He comforts.  
"No… it's okay. Just call when we get inside." I say, my voice still shaky but my decision final.  
He stops walking and grabs hold of my wrist so I can't keep walking away. "I'm not going to call them unless it's really what you want." He says, daring me to answer shakily again.

"Takato, if your parents aren't here we're not telling my mom. Now let's go!" I say reaffirming my feeling about this. Honestly… I don't know if it's what I want, but it's defiantly what's going to happen now. We close in on the ever so memorable concrete steps… where he asked me to be his girl friend. No feeling is shown to them as we walk up them and I open the door to my house.  
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**"**_Maybe… maybe they'll let me. Maybe they'll forget about what happened last time. Yeah! Yeah! That was just a… just a fluke! They'll understand… they'll know… they'll realize… the chances of it happening again… none! There's no way anything like that could ever happen again!" _I reassured myself in my head.

I walked into the kitchen for dinner and saw everyone waiting. "Jeri! Your just in time, come have a seat honey!" mom said.  
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_"I really hope Dad doesn't take it the wrong way… I mean… they worked so hard just to get rid of it! Now we've found a loophole in the system and want to go back! How crazy are we? Crazy enough to venture into a whole new world that we have no idea about how it will receive us!? Are we **that** desperate to see our digimon again!?"  
_I opened the door to our apartment and was greeted by a hell of a surprised. "Henwe! Wook what daddy bawt me!" Susie screamed at me.  
It was a life size plush toy of Terriermon! Tons of them had been made because of our heroics last year, but with all of Susie's business of 'Miss Pretty Pants' I thought she was holding the real deal! As if he had come through the portal and come here to wait for me! "Ah… ah… that's nice, Susie." I said nervously.

"Its just wike the weal Tewwiermon! Just wike Little Miss Pretty Pants!"  
I smiled meekly, "That's nice Susie. Wh-Where is dad?"  
She pointed to the back room, where the computer was. "He's been on the computer aww day."  
"Okay, thanks." I replied. She smiled and bounced off with the toy swinging from her arms. I laughed as the body of the toy hit her with every hop. _I wonder how the REAL Terriermon would like to do that again?_

I pushed the thought from my head and started for the computer room. As I walked past the kitchen I could smell Mom cooking something delicious. _Good. Dad's gonna need a big meal after he swallows this news._

I found him just working on nothing, and decided that there's no time like the present. "Dad, can I um… talk to you."  
He kept on typing for a few moments, as if he hadn't heard me. "Dad."  
"I heard you the first time, Henry. Just be patient a moment."

I waited just a few more seconds as he finished whatever it was he had been doing, spun around in his chair and sat up to greet me. "What's the matter?"  
"Nothing… nothing's the matter." I said, seeing he was already jumping to conclusions. I felt as if the shame of knowing that the portal was open was written all about my face and he was reading it easily, and mocking me by presenting the fact that I was worried about it.  
"Obviously something's the matter. You want to talk to me about something, and your desperate to get to talking- not even wanting to wait a few seconds to talk."

Again, I felt as if the shame was written on my face for all to see, know, and pity me for holding such a heavy burden on my shoulders. "Yeah… okay there is a problem." I said.

He smiled at me and laughed to himself. "I knew this day would come…" he said.

WhAT?!?!?! He… he knew? Was it really that obvious… was it actually written on my face? Or viewable in my eyes? Could he see into my soul and tell that I had finally realized the portal was open? Did he already know? How long!? "You… you know? Already!?" I questioned.

"Son… I knew this day would come ever since you were about thirteen."

'_Thirteen_?' I'm fourteen now, but I was thirteen last year when it happened! That didn't make too much sense but still… "So… so how come you never told me?" I asked, dying to know.

"Well…" he started, "I thought it was obvious, to tell you the truth."  
"No… I don't think it is." I replied, almost instinctively.  
"Well son… let's beat around the bush… what's her name?"  
WHAT THE F-CK!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?! "Wh-What!?" I asked.  
"What's her name? I know you've hit that age where girl's become important and this is a vulnerable age for you, so just tell me- what's her name?"  
He… he thought I was talking about a girl… about dating… oh dear God… he thought I was talking about puberty! "Dad! No! Dad, it's not about a… about a girl." I scraped out.

"Oh… I see… so… um… what's… _his_ name?" he asked.

My eyes almost busted out of their socket. "DAD! I'm not gay!" I nearly screamed at him.  
"Well son… I'm stumped… what is all this your talking about then?"  
"Digimon!" I yelled, desperate to change the subject. However, in my haste, I had forgotten how fragile and delicate of a subject this was.  
He looked at me sternly for a moment. "What about them Henry?"  
The true impact of the consequences of my haste now just settled in with the sound of his voice. "Dad… I think your gonna want to sit down for this." I started.  
It was going to be a **_long_** night…  
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I burst through door to our house with excitement. '_There gonna be so excited!_' I thought. "MOM! Good News!"  
"What is it Kazu?" Mom called back.  
"Cancel all my plans for the summer. No camp… no vacation… no nothing!"  
"What? Why?" Mom replied, no longer yelling as she walked into greet me.

I smiled a moment. "Because I'm going somewhere better!"  
"Where, oh where, could there possibly be a place better then the Bahamas?" She replied.  
I smiled again. "I was thinking…"  
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_Man, oh man! Mom's never gonna let me go to the Digi-world again. No way! So it's okay that I say I can't go, right? The others will understand, right? Mom doesn't want me to go back so they won't force me to. There's so much more at stake when entering this time. The danger will be ten times worse! We'll all be dead in a week! There's absolutely no way-_

"Kenta, are you alright? You're not eating your dinner."  
"Yeah… just thinking… about… stuff." I said.  
"Like what?" she asked earnestly.

I looked up at her from my plate. She seemed to have **some** worry about her face. Even if it didn't show too much, it certainly was there. "Mom… now feel absolutely free to say no to this… but Kazu, and Takato and everyone else well… they want to…"  
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"DAD! I'm home!" I yelled as I walked into our apartment.  
"It's about damn time! Where have you been?" he bellowed back from the kitchen, making something.  
"I was at the park. Hanging out with… _friends_."  
"Oh really? Who then?"  
"Rika… and the rest of those people from last year."  
"Hmm… Rika? You like her, don't you?"  
"Think nothing of it, dad." I said, sitting down at the table.  
"Well you do. So what's she been up to?"  
I paused a moment and thought back to the park today. She had be so cold and overprotective… just as I remembered her… just as I liked her.

But Takato had been so intent on keeping me from her. Why? What's he got in this? He was a cool kid last I remember. But didn't he like Jeri? I mean… he certainly showed it enough in the time that I saw him. I realized Dad was still waiting for a reply. "Not much… as far as I can tell."

"That's nice. You were gone long enough… you must have been doing something else."  
"Yeah… about that… Dad… I'm going back to…"  
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We close in on the ever so memorable concrete steps… where he asked me to be his girl friend. No feeling is shown to them as we walk up them and I open the door to my house.

"Mom! I'm home… and Takato's with me." I yelled as I walked through the door.  
"Oh good!" she called back, hurrying to meet us, as Takato followed behind me.  
"Can he stay for dinner? And… er… maybe his parents too?" I asked.  
"Of course! The more the merrier!" (A/N: slight Christmas reference… slight.)

I turned my back to face him as I walked away after slipping off my shoes and smiled at him. "There ya go."  
He smiled back, but didn't say anything. He quickly kicked of his shoes, put them together next to mine, and ran to catch up to me. We walked into the kitchen and I pointed to the phone. "Go ahead."

Again, he didn't say anything, but followed obediently like a dog… a cute dog. I watched him go and looked at mom who was standing by the stove cooking something. "You were expecting more?" I asked her.  
She shrugged her shoulders, "Lucky chance I was already cooking too much."  
_Good old mom. Always reliable. Always there.  
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"Okay. Thanks, it shouldn't be more then 10 minutes." I said into the phone.  
"We'll be over in five." Dad replied.  
"Dad… please let mom drive." I said.  
"What? Why?" he replied.  
"Because 5 minutes of you driving equals like 35 **real** minutes."  
He laughed into the phone, and murmured something back that I didn't hear. "See you in five minutes."  
"See ya." I said, hanging up the phone.

Rika's Mom heard me hang up the phone and turned to me. "So? What they say?"  
"They'll be over in a half hour." I said.

She looked a little taken aback. "I pleaded with my dad to let my mom drive, but he'll probably end up driving and then… bada bing! Half hour's gone."  
She laughed a little bit at this, "So they'll be here in like five minutes." I said.  
She nodded and I noticed Rika was gone. "Umm… where's-"  
"Her room."  
"Thanks."

I took the ever-so-familiar route to her room, saw the door, walked up to it, turned the knob and… locked? Why? I turned the knob the other way to make sure I wasn't being retarded. Nope. I rattled the knob a bit to get her attention. "Changing!" she called to me.

_Oh… OH!_ "For what?" I called to the door.

There was no immediate response but after a second she yelled back, "For you."

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I headed back to the kitchen to wait for Rika and found that her Mom was quickly burning dinner! I hurried to help and after several minutes of varied commotion and chaos we had stopped the burning and whatever she had been cooking was now just a smoking pile of ash.

I stared at it with no idea of what to do next. _Mom and Dad are gonna be here any minute now! And where was Rika this whole time? _Justas the thought popped into my head here she came striding into the kitchen looking intently at what would have been dinner. She looked at me and I just shrugged my shoulders and couldn't help but smile. It's amazing how I was able to have a sense of humor in such an odd predicament. I laughed at the situation because… well it was laughable! It was almost like something out of a cartoon show…

"What's so funny?" Rika demanded, but I was too humored to oblige to her game of frustration.  
"Nothing. So…" I cleared my throat. "who wants pizza?"

Both mother and daughter turned to me with almost paralyzing looks of discontent. I actually felt a shiver go down my spine as I recoiled and wished to have never made the comment. It was good few seconds before I decided I should try and save my self by offering some other solution, but before I could say anything Mrs. Nonaka spoke up, "I'll go get it. Rika, dear, please call an order one please. You two choose which kind." And then she left the room, headed for God knows where. I was just glad to have her out of the room. I never knew she too had that cold of a stare… then again… where else could Rika have learned hers?

Rika gave a disgruntled huff and walked to the phone and picked it up. "Where from?"  
I gave the question a quick thought to her favorite pizza parlor, not caring if I liked the place or not. "How about… Carmody's?"  
Her eyes lit up a bit at the thought. "Pepperoni?" she asked, almost dared me.  
"There's none better." I replied.  
She finally let her guard down and smiled at me. She turned on the phone and dialed the first three digits, but then stopped. "What's the number again?"  
_She forgot?_ "Eight, zero, one. One, two, three, zero."  
"Oh yeah! Thanks." And dialed in the number.

Fifteen minutes after calling Mom and Dad had shown up and Mrs. Nonaka was off to get the pizza while we explained what had happened. "So, Takato, what is it that you wanted to talk about?"  
"Well…um… ya see, Dad, um…"  
"We want my mom to be here when we tell you." Rika saved me.

Dad nodded, gave unappeased face and started a walk around the house. Mom, however, smiled ridiculously at us. She had some wickedness behind that grin… something horrible she was going to say. "What?" I asked her.  
"Takato…"  
"What?!"  
"Takato… did you propose?"

She and Rika laughed at this while I threw my hands up in disgust. _What am I gonna say to that?_ I asked myself. Luckily, I didn't have to. Mom just walked away and Rika kept on laughing for a little bit, giving me just enough time to think of a response. "That's not funny!" I told her.

She waved this comment away. "Whatever."

It wasn't long after that her Mom got back and we were all standing around the kitchen eating, talking, and laughing some more. After almost a half hour of avoiding the subject, finally Dad nailed me down with a hammer. "So Takato, now that Mrs. Nonaka's here, can you please tell us what this is all about?"  
I gave Rika a pleading look, hoping maybe she could possibly bail me out again, but she just returned it with a stern look of her own. It was judgment time. "Well, it about… well… I'm gonna be straight forward with you all. We… we've found…" I stuttered to a stop.  
"Found what?" Someone asked me, but I didn't know who. I was caught, and my throat was drier then ever before.

I felt a sudden plummet into my stomach as a fear grew of their reaction. I was going to die, in this spot, of fear, before my fears could even be verified. It was over for me… it was…

I felt a jolt of lightning and a surge of life flow through me as the warmest sensation spread throughout my entire body. I searched for the source and traced it to my hand, where Rika had slid hers silently into mine. I was ready to tell them now, with Rika at my side. "Mom… Dad… Mrs. Nonaka… we've found…"  
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"NO WAY! NO WAY IN HELL, ARE YOU GOING BACK THERE AGAIN!" Dad screamed at me.

I just kept staring into space. Staring him in the eye would only give him the satisfaction he wanted- to see the fear in my eyes… the fear of his wrath. His anger was unending, and I could almost sense his blood boiling at my suggestion of the idea. I wanted to look towards mom- not for help, or protection- but for a way out of this. He was going to keep yelling at me until I broke, but if I even looked for a way out he would take it as surrender. I wasn't going to lose… I wasn't going to break… I would play his game to see how long I could last. I would hold out as long as he fired at me. It wasn't he that I feared… but fear of letting him know he had beaten me.

My little brother had left already, frightened by my dad's anger. I wish I could be with him, probably hiding in the corner in the other room. To comfort him, and tell him everything's all right… and getting out of this room would be nice too.  
He went on, screaming his furry away, and just when I thought maybe he had reached the midway, mom grabbed hold of me and brought me into a hug. I didn't respond but just took it as a protection from my father.

"Don't worry Jeri… he's only angry for the moment." She whispered into my ear.  
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"That's impossible." He proclaimed.

I was a little surprised by his reaction… I was expecting more denial then 'impossible.' "Umm… I'm pretty sure it's not." I said, a little bit of punk-teenager in my voice.

He stared me down before speaking, "How? How is it even thinkable?" he asked.  
"I don't know… but it's happening, and it's real… and… and its trouble." I confessed my thoughts on the portal being open.  
"You think so?" he asked me earnestly.  
"Yeah… I mean… we've got no help… no protection… no nothing!"  
"This is no joking matter, Henry. You and your friends are trying to play the role of God… dealing with the lives of innocent people, and not just any people- friends of yourself **as well** as yourselves!" He said, seemingly ignoring my response.  
"I know Dad… but…"  
"But nothing… unless you can give me a decent explanation of why I should let you go, your going nowhere."

I opened my mouth to give a response, but realized it would only get me into more trouble, so I shut my mouth and started to think of a valid reason to let us go I could give to him. None came, so lying is just as good. "Takato has some crazy idea there's something wrong going on there. He doesn't have any other explanation for why the portal would be open other then that there's a reason for us to be there."

Ya see, this lie worked because I had forgotten to mention we've known about it for just under a year. "How does he figure that?" he asked.

"Well, the fact that the portal is open means there's a reason for it, right?"  
"What do you mean?" he asked.  
"Well, last time it was open was because the digital world needed, as he put it, a 'hero' or, in our case, 'heroes.' The portal reopening suddenly means there is or will be a disturbance needing an 'hero.' "

"That sure is an interesting way of thinking about it. Well, I guess it could be true."

"It's not good that it's open again… no one wants war." I said, feeling the moment and the moment**um** of just spinning a _perfect_ lie.  
"Who said anything about war?" he questioned.  
"No one… but that's most likely what we'd be walking right into, right? Just like last time."  
"Again, Henry… an interesting way of thinking about it."  
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"What do you mean, it's not a good idea!?" I yelled at mom.

"Kazu, please, try and calm down and look at it from my eyes. We nearly lost you the first time, why would we want you to go back out there again?" she tried to reason with me.

"Because it's everything I've ever dreamed about! To have Gaurdromon (A/N: Yes, I forget how to spell it) again! He was the coolest! And so was the rest of that entire place!"

"That entire place, was also the most dangerous place you've ever been. Your father and I were looking forward to sending you to regular old camp this summer, not some crazy world where you can get killed. Why, just look at what happened to that Jeri girl after her first visit! She was by damn possessed! Her parents must be throwing a fit by her suggestion! Your crazy to want to go back."

"Crazy is, as crazy does." I whispered to myself.  
"What was that?" she asked, danger in her voice.  
"I'm going and you there's nothing you can say or do to stop me!" I finally gave up trying to reason with her.

Surprisingly, she seemed to have given up herself. As if what I had said was law, but even I knew that this wouldn't be the last of it. "Your right, I can't force you to do what I want, but please, for your father and my sake, think over the consequences of going to the digital world. Please."

I didn't give her any kind of look, but rather walked into the kitchen to maybe eat away my troubles.  
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"I… I don't understand." I said, dumbstruck.  
"I'm telling you, Kenta, that I'm glad your going back." Mom repeated.  
"But… but… the danger… the fighting… the evil!" I tried to dissuade her.  
"Fate has never led you astray, and I trust that the angels will watch over you."

I just stared at her in astonishment. Never, in my wildest dreams, did I expect this response from her.

… I guess, I'm going back to the digital world…  
(A/N: Let's face it… no one here wants to read about Kenta)  
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"Well… I couldn't stop you the first time you went there, so I don't see the point in trying to stop you now." Dad said to me.  
"I'd have to agree with that sentiment." I said.  
"Don't be a wise-guy, Ryo." He responded.  
"I'm not a wise guy, dad… I'm a wise-man." I said. (A/N: Again, slight Christmas reference.)  
"I'll make a man of you!" he said, wagging a threatening fork at me while we ate our dinner.

I didn't respond but just kept on eating my dinner. There was no point in starting an argument when I had already won it… right?  
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I felt a jolt of lightning and a surge of life flow through me as the warmest sensation spread throughout my entire body. I searched for the source and traced it to my hand, where Rika had slid hers silently into mine. I was ready to tell them now, with Rika at my side. "Mom… Dad… Mrs. Nonaka… we've found a portal **back** to the digital world." I told them.

Shouts of what's, how's, where's, and other questions rang through the room as we sat there with them all in disarray and shock. It was pandemonium for a moment, but only for a moment. I was afraid of this, but again, with Rika at (umm, more like **in**) hand I knew nothing could go wrong… it was just the way things worked when we were together. "Well, your not going, that's for damn sure!" I heard dad yell over both of our mom's.

I saw Rika open up her mouth but before she could even get anything out her mother stared my dad down and said, "And why not?"  
I was confused… she… she wanted us to go back? "It's too damn dangerous! They'll be killed! They probably don't even have a plan for when they get there- do you?"

"We sure do!" I half-lied, half-promised.  
"Well what is it!?" dad yelled at me.

Mrs. Nonaka looked to me for an answer as well, and even Rika caved in a little bit by turning to look at me. "The people from Hypnos and Henry's dad can help us!" I said, reluctantly.

"They **can** help you, or they **will** help you?" I was challenged.

I decided lying any more might get us into some major trouble. "They can help us, and I'm sure they'll want to help us!" I said, desperately trying to save this sinking ship.

"I'll be damned if they want to put innocent lives back into danger, like last time!"

"Last time we came out alive, as heroes! And stronger then we'd ever been in our entire lives! But the cost of it was that we lost the second most important things in our entire lives… only to re-discover more important things in our lives, later on." I said, giving Rika's hand a quick squeeze to transmit the meaning of what I had said.

She gave a little start at my squeeze but returned the squeeze with two of her own and an affectionate look I dare not try to describe in fear you might get the wrong idea and expect less then what it was. I felt my insides melt at it… but now was not the time to lose my gut when facing off against my dad. "Fine, I know where that Yamaki fellow lives, we'll go see him tomorrow. If he **and** the others agree to help you out, then I have no problem letting you go." He told me.

I had to one-up him, I just had to! Urgh! I looked to the kitchen clock… 7:12. It's not even that late right now. "Why don't we go now then?" I said, thunder in my voice.

He gave a quick look at the clock. He turned back to me, obviously prepared to say no… but something about his facial expression changed… he became enlightened by some idea… I wasn't sure what, but it couldn't be good. He gave a smirk and said, "Alright, we'll head over right now. (He turned to my mom) Honey, are you coming? (she nodded) And you Mrs. Nonaka? (she also nodded) It's official, let's all go… right now."

I could tell he had some plan in his head… some devious idea oh how to keep us from going, but I couldn't back down now… I was in too far. I nodded as well, got up, and, with Rika still holding my hand, we walked to her room and got our coats. When we got back to the kitchen they were already moving the dishes to the sink to prepare to be able to leave. Once they were finished we headed for the door, and then the car…

This isn't going to end well… I'm sure of it.  
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A/N: Yeah! I finally got (1) a long chapter together and (2) this chapter done! I had planned on trying to get this chapter up during the day, but was very unsuccessful, but here it is- released on Christmas Eve! Woot! Yeah! So I've got a little bit to explain. First off the bat- I have always had a long-standing problem with people who consider any of the digimon characters gay. Most notably Tai and Matt, Davis and Ken, and Henry and Takato. It really pisses me off. I mean, there's no f-cking way they're gay… I just f-cking hate it! So I decided to diss miss that idea with the whole Henry-Dad conversation version 1.0. Who liked the skipping around a lot? I got so lame with the last three… I just ran out of ideas. (the last three being Kenta - as you read -, Ryo, and the last scene. So the next chapter shouldn't take so long. I'm really sorry, but, as you know, I'm usually very thorough about letting you know everything, but more likely then not- I'm gonna start the next chapter off as the family is getting out of the car at Yamaki's apartment. I haven't started that chapter yet, but I'm just trying to plan ahead. Writing about what everyone's thinking about during the car ride would be (1) a b-tch and (2) like a whole chapters worth of typing. Oh, don't bother calling that phone number I put in for the pizza place. I just thought 1-2-3-0 was such a pizza place phone number. Anyway, Kazu and Kenta's storylines were really dumb this chapter. Mainly were focusing in on the other 5 people- Takato, Rika, Jeri, Henry, and Ryo. Jeri's dad is a psycho, I know. If you remember in the show, when they got back from the digital world he wasn't going to pick her up from the park (this then lead to a series of horribly Jurato moments and I wont go any further), so obviously he's not happy about her going back there again. Anyway, I think it's shaping up to be a really good story. I added more Romantics on request for this chapter. As for some fun facts: Takato describes his dad's procrastination as him always being a half hour late- that's a what my mom's like. Ask her to be there at four, and she'll be there at four-thirty. '_Good old, reliable mom._' Hahaha. Another fun fact- the name I gave for the pizza place (Carmody's) is the last name (Carmody) of one of my best friends at school so it's not derived off of any place. So if you live by a pizza place actually named "Carmody's" just know- No, I don't live near you, and No, it's not a pizza place I eat at. Hahaha. Okay, so I think that's about it. Oh, and as for the title of the chapter, the original (joke) title was: "Rika's Mom (Has Got it Going On)" although, I feared this would draw too many boo's and hisses and hate messages so I pulled it. Also know, I was finished this up at 11:30 and too desperate to get it up before Christmas Day to proof read it. Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays! Okay, peace!

Love Always. Rukato Forever.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"  
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	4. Takato's Crucible

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A/N: Oh my. Oh my, oh my. I'm very sorry I'm so slow on these chapter's people. I know you were all probably rolling your eyes when you saw I had updated again. Yes, I'm very sorry. Okay, here we go. Love and be loved. Read… and review. Peace!  
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Takato's Crucible

This is suicide for all. For all of us… all of us who want to go back to what was. To go back in time to when everything was good. When no matter how happy times were, there was always some problem with the happy. Kind of like the calm before the storm? Only we were always in the storm, and the calm never lasted very long. Even when we thought we had weathered the storm, we were really only in an extended calm. A calm that lasted so long, that we thought it to be the end of the storm… but we were wrong. We were so wrong.

This is suicide for all. For me… for Rika… for all of them. I was blinded, of sorts, temporarily. My vision was fogged by the desire to go back… to go back there again. I wanted it so bad, to see that happy face again, to hear that voice, to see them all again… I wanted _so_ bad, and now… I can't even hope to touch it. Suicide isn't quite the word to describe it… no, I can't allow for myself to be counted among those who deserve to go. What I've done is murdered the plan, and now everyone's hopes are at the mercy of a man who will never hear it.

Everything's a blur as we speed our way to the murder of my plans… of Rika and Henry's plans… of our plans. I haven't said a word the entire ride, thus far. I'm not sure anyone has? I've isolated myself next to the window, going over any possibility of getting Yamaki to agree with me. The result is never different from the first… zero percent chance. He'll never agree, it's just too far out there. Was this dad's plan? To crush everything I had worked for and leave me with no hope of getting back to the digital world at all? I silently cursed him in my head, and started to think of my defense for going back to be presented to Yamaki. If it wasn't perfect… if I showed even a seconds hesitation in any response, any sign of doubt on my behalf… well… it would be the end of it. I couldn't allow for that to happen…

It's up to me…

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We come to a stop in a seemingly empty parking lot. I look around out the window into a cold haze as I realize my vision is a bit fogged from staring in the same direction almost the entire way. Everyone begins to the get out of the car voluntarily, as if some unvoiced command had told them to do so. I reach for my seat buckle and release myself from the grasp of the car. I push open the door and slide out into the night air. All around me are unfamiliar lights, and I'm certain this is an unknown area… I'm in enemy territory now. I turn to the trunk of the car and stand next to it, hoping against hope that God will intervene and save me from this. I lean up against it, close my eyes, and put my head down. '_There is no God._'

I feel a warm hand grab my shoulder and squeeze tight. I open my eyes, but keep my head down. I am defeated, and the world knows it. "Takato…" says that voice I've grown so familiar of.

"It's up to me."

"No. No, Takato. It's not up to you. I'm right here for you. No matter what goes on up there, I will always be here for you. Just know that." She says softly.

Our parents have already headed for the main entrance and we're alone. I feel that if we were at home, in the comfort of familiar places, if we were only in a safer place, that then I could possibly accept this for what it is. That I could enjoy her comfort, and her attempts to reassure me that I'm not alone in this situation. But… we're not. We're in a strange place, with no familiarity to it, and no past relationship with it to build upon. This is hell… and I have abandoned all hope.

I keep my head down, but turn around to face her. I can't look her in the eye, for I know they'll never forgive me. Those _gorgeous_… _beautiful_… _wonderful_… _violet_ eyes. Her beauty seems ten times more illuminated as I realize I can never look at them the same way, knowing what I've done to her. I've ruined everything, and it was all out of blind rage, the anger at my father for denying me what I wanted. If I even dared to lift my face… I'd never forgive myself. But I felt her hand come up to my chin and lift my head so that we we're even leveled. I was staring into her eyes and she showed so much sympathy… so much care… so much lo… compassion! No such word is necessary as 'lo...' I can't even say it in my head without feeling a little more horrible about myself for ruining this! For ruining it all… for ruining her.

She cares so much for me… for how I treat myself. She wants me to know I'm not alone, but I am! She doesn't know! She has no idea what it's…

My heart skips a beat, and skids to a sudden halt, as a few tears slide down my cheeks. She knows exactly what I'm feeling. She knows better then I do. She knows me inside and out right now, and knows exactly what I'm thinking and what I'm feeling. She knows this feeling of isolation, this unending feeling of lonesome, of this feeling of heartlessness, or rather… of a_ heart of ice_. It took me months to melt **her** '_heart of ice,_' and it only took her but a minute to melt mine. I can't help but let these tears fall freely down my cheeks, as this feeling of hopelessness leaves me. I become aware that my tears are sliding right onto, and off of her hand, which still steadily rest underneath my chin, holding me up.

I try to smile, but it turns into a small whimper… not quite what I was aiming for. She won't stand for it anymore. She removes her hand from its holding place, and brings me into a hug so tight, I fear for air… yet I know everything will be alright… that in this position, nothing else in the world can touch me. I feel so safe… so sure of myself… so… so… _so in love_.

The words are into my head, and this time I let them pass freely, as I know they are for real. That what I was so sure of so long ago… it was for real. It was love then, and I'll be damned if it's not love now. I love her… I love her! I have to tell her… I have to…

"Are you two coming?" I hear Mrs. Nonaka call from across the parking lot.

I become suddenly so exposed, so vulnerable to my surroundings. I'm at the mercy of this silent assailant, and hell hath no fury. I want so bad to be alone with her, to be in her room, or my own, or at the pond, or anywhere… anywhere but here, where I am lost and confused and without reason.

I think back to why we are in such a weak position, and the horrible memories come flooding back to me like they were meant to fill my mind to the brim, and then overflow it with more horrible news. I remember that I am still at the mercy of Yamaki and his ability to care for what we want… that I still have present my case for allowing us to go back. So much returns to me, and I feel as if the weight of the world is placed back on my shoulders. None of this is helped when Rika pulls away from me and turns to face her mother across the lot. She calls back, "One sec, mom."

Her mother obliges and turns and walks into the darkness, as well as out of sight. Rika turns and faces me again. "Alright… everything's alright." She says as she pulls her whole arm up to my vision. She pulls her right sleeve up to cover her hand with her left, and then bring it to my face to wipe the remnants of tears from my face. She dries the wet places, and cleans me up, almost as if she were my mother, but so much more caring. This was the girl that I only **now** realized that I loved! How could it have possibly taken me so long to realize it?

She smiles at me once more, and shakes her head. "You ready to go?"

I feel a bit shell shocked for a second, but know it's time to go to work. I have to get him to agree… for me… for Rika.

We walk across the parking lot, arm in arm, hand in hand, to where Mrs. Nonaka had disappeared. As we walk into the darkness, and we are temporarily blinded by it all, however we get across and make a sharp right and find ourselves face to face with a great light perturbing from the inner halls of the hotel lobby. We walk inside and our parents are waiting, being patient with our slow entrance. Dad is standing by the elevator, impatiently tapping his foot, waiting for it the doors to slide open.

Neither Mrs. Nonaka, nor my own mother share the same warm, and welcoming faces that Rika held for me at the moment. Wow, I was head over heels for her right now. I wanted so bad to tell her how I felt, because rejection couldn't possibly be an option… she felt the same, and I was positive of it. We were a match made in heaven, and God was only now having me realize it was she that I was destined for. Everything about her seemed to be ten times more wonderful to me now that I was accepting how I felt. If only… if I simply just whispered it in her ear, would that be enough? No. Nothing would ever be good enough for her. I could give her the world, and still feel as if it was only worth a bat of her eyelash. If the world wasn't worth it, how hard would it be to convince one man that she, more then **ANYONE**, deserved to go back to the digital world?

I wanted to scream it from the mountaintops, so how could whispering it be adequate? I was fooling myself, or at least trying to. I would convince Yamaki to help us, and then, under the security and protection of a familiar place, and kind atmosphere, I could then tell her. Then… then all would be perfect. But first, I had to convince a man to do something he most certainly would not want to do.

I heard the elevator door chime open, and we all made our way for the door. We squeezed inside, and I was the last to enter. I stood in front of the door as it closed shut, with Rika on my right, and my father on my left. We didn't even acknowledge the other's existence, and there was such a tension in the room, you could cut it with a knife.

After such a silence I had never known between my father and me, he finally broke it saying, "Yamaki lives on the twenty-third floor. They said by the time we get up there, he should be expecting us."

He didn't necessarily say it to me, but it was as close as we were probably going to get until we were actually in front of the blonde man battling for or case like lawyers…

Things we're about to get interesting… for whom they interested, was yet to be determined.

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We reached the twenty-third floor and headed straight for his room. When we reached it, I was in front of our small group. I lifted my hand and hesitated a moment longer, for this was the beginning of my test. I knocked on the door three times with just as much energy that would have been expected from someone visiting so late at night. I hear someone slowly make their way to the door, and I'm worried already. I have to be strong though, because this is where I will be judged. I hear a few clicks on the locks from the other side of the door, and it slowly creaks open.

Yamaki… we'll he's different to say the least. He's certainly dressed nice enough for someone who's suppose to be alone, late at night. His eyes are hazier, yet seem to be filled with more emotion then the last time I saw him. He's grown somewhat of a beard, and yet he seems to be cleaner, if that's at all possible? He looks different, yet almost the same. "Hello Takato. Come right in." he says to me.

He smiles, but I don't return it, instead I just walk in with a blank expression of one who is lost in a new place, because that's what I was. I take a look around his apartment and it's very tidy. He seems to keep a pretty tight ship around here, as everything's ordered and close together, right where it should be. I look around and see a light coming out from behind a not fully closed door, which was at the end of a long, rather very dark corridor. I wondered what was back there, but figured it probably nothing more then his bedroom. I don't want to invade any deeper into his privacy, so I look away and see that the living room is very nice, and seems to be set up for many visitors, seeing as there were a few stray chairs spread out around the room that didn't seem to belong there.

I went and sat down in a two-seat couch, and Rika quickly makes sure she is next to me in the seat- possibly for comfort, possibly to show our relationship. Mom and Mrs. Nonaka sit down in another, larger couch together and dad sits in his own chair. There remain only two seats next to each other, almost as if he left them there. He comes in and sits in one, takes off his glasses and wipes them off. He looks at me with a calculation expression, as if trying to figure me out. "So, what was so important that you had to come and see me, especially in the dead of night?"

I look around, from dad, to my mom and Mrs. Nonaka, and then to Rika. I look back at Yamaki, and now begins it all, "Well… it's hard to tell you this, and especially after all we've been through. But, I think you need to know this more then any one else right now. We've… we've found a portal back to the digital world."

His mouth opens a bit, and hangs open as you could possibly say 'his jaw dropped.' He stared at me with disbelief, yet somehow I knew he understood very well what I meant. I'm sure he was ready to deny that it was possible, that I was fooling him. However, I'm sure he also was taking into account everything that surrounded him. Two teenagers he had worked with once… three adults… the dead of night… the urgency… the reluctance of myself to tell him…… I'm sure he of all people could see this was no joke. He suddenly shook his head, not in an 'impossible' manner, but instead, to maybe shake whatever he was thinking of from his head. He looked around at everyone in the room, and there was an uneasy silence among us all, broken only by the humming of something in his back room, probably an air conditioner. He slouched forward in his chair, as if trying to whisper to me a secret, even when we were several feet apart. "A portal?" he asks.

I nod, and he looks away, out the window, into the steady night air. A somewhat shocked expression is upon his face, and he's calculating again. He looks down to between his legs, although I doubt that he's looking at the floor, but rather at anything to take his attention away. He picks his own head up and looks at me, "Wh-,… where?"

"In the park, in an abandoned shack where I used to hide Guilmon. The same place where we found the first one, that took us there the first time."

He shakes his head in acceptance. So… it had to be true. I had succeeded in convincing him that the portal was for real, and now came the hard part: convincing him to let us go, and before that, telling him that we wanted to go back, not try and maybe close it up.

"Mr. Yamaki, umm… well, the thing is… we want to… go back."

He wasn't even fazed by this, and said, "Well of course you do. I'd be surprised if you **didn't** want to go back. But… what do you plan to do when…" he trailed off, possibly making the realization of where I was headed with this, and something about his expression changed.

"That's where we were hoping you'd come in. You and… Hypnos. You and all those people always knew what was going on there and everything. You know exactly what to do, and how we could handle ourselves once we got there. You, basically, know everything."

"I told him if you and the rest of Hypnos agrees to help them out I'll gladly see them off." My dad entered in.

Yamaki shook his head and probably knew now that we were only here because my dad wanted to be sure we'd have help while we were there. "Takato… you have… I have… ugh…" he stopped.

"I know that it's crazy, and insane, and maybe we shouldn't be so excited about going back, but we are, and we do, and this is just how it is. But, we **need** you to help us."

He again, nodded and was seeing clearly through it all. He was trying to decide what words to use, but what kinds of annotations those words would carry, I had no idea. Was he going to try and drop me off easy, or let me know lightly? He looked up at me and said, "Takato… I don't think you know what kind of news you're bringing me here, but I think you should know… Takato, this is… I can't… you wouldn't…"

He was trying to break it too me lightly… I saw, without seeing it, my dad's facial expression change to a lighter, happier one, as he realized he had been victorious. I looked down at the floor and knew I was defeated. It was… all over. After all that Rika had done to encourage me earlier, it was all for not. I looked up at him and his mouth was hanging open as he gaped at words to tell me. I knew what was coming, and prepared myself for the worst… I prepared myself for… "What I think he's trying to say is, we'd be more then glad to help you." Said a feminine voice, from not far behind me.

I turned in my seat to see a familiar women standing at the entrance to the dark hall way I had be intrigued by earlier. She had almost blood red hair, which hung past her shoulders and with a rather stunning black dress on which was strapless and hung down to her feet, where she was wearing high heels. I blinked, and rubbed my eyes in disbelief. I had seen this women before, and yet I couldn't remember where from? "Hello Takato… and Rika? What a pleasant surprise."

I still stared in disbelief. Who was she? I knew her so well, yet she was so discrete… so blurred! Whoever she was, she recognized me and saw I had a confused look upon my face and said, "Do you remember me, Takato?"

I was thankful she had asked, and yet reluctant to shake my head for pride. Yet, my pride wouldn't allow me to act stupidly. I shook my head and she smiled playfully. "It's alright, I'm not surprised. Allow me to re-introduce myself: Riley Ootori. Soon to be, Riley Yamaki."

Suddenly I remember her so well. Of course! She worked for Hynos, and sometimes comes by the store and gets day-old bread! How could I forget her? It didn't matter, what was she talking about. "That's right! I remember you now, but… what do you mean you'll help us out? He was just about to tell us that he couldn't possibly…" _'Or was he?'_

I turned to Yamaki and with a burning desire what this 'news that I've brought him' actually did mean to him? "What I was trying to say is, this is excellent news… for me."

I suddenly felt as if I had been shocked with 5 cents worth of electricity. Everything about my body wanted to jump for joy! I didn't care how or why this was even possible, but if they were going to help us… well fuck it! I stood up an looked at Yamaki with a hungry look, I wanted him to tell me again! "You mean… no, you mean…"

"We were fired from our positions, not even four months after everything ended. It was believed that Hynos was useless then. We tried to convince them that there were still something coming up in the park, but they were positive that it was simply a glitch in the system. But tonight… Takato, you've proved us right. You've given me everything I needed to prove that we were right."

"You mean… that…"

"Don't take it so lightly Takato. It's going to take us at least a week, possibly even two to get the systems back, up and running. You'll be sitting around until then. We'll go an see the Chief Secretary tomorrow, but until then we're going to have to ask you to leave. We're going out to dinner now." Riley told us.

I smiled as wide as I could. This was it! It was… impossible, but it was happening! I thought back to my first thoughts when getting out of the car and took them back… I was so wrong.

I turned to mom, dad, and Mrs. Nonaka. They all had a separate look of surprise and were in utter shock that we were going! I didn't care! I looked at Rika, and she was already staring up at me with a look that melted my insides for the second time tonight, and I dare not limit its description to you by using words, for words can not convey what it did to me… what she meant to me. I reached down, grabbed her by the hand, and pulled her to standing with me. I stared into her eyes, and she stared back… this was a moment of utter victory and she was sharing it with me… she of all people!

I knew Riley wanted us to leave, so I held tight to Rika's hand as I turned to face Riley, nodded, and headed for the door. As we we're reaching the door she called me back, "Takato!"

I stopped, and impatiently turned around to look at her. "Are you two together now?"

I looked at Rika and she smiled a shy smile at me, and I nodded to her. _'We're more then together now… we're so much more… and it's gonna be like that forever.'_

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"How cute." I said, but the two of them had already walked out the door.

I looked at their parents, who seemed to be taking this news with much weight. "Don't worry… we'll take care of them in the most extreme measures." I comforted.

"We won't let any missteps to happen, I promise you." Mitsuo comforted as well.

"We are sorry, we really are, but we have to ask you to leave, seeing as so are we." I said to them.

They nodded there heads, and slowly but surely got up and left the apartment. As Mitsuo and I headed for the door behind them all I said to him, "Those two sure are a cute couple wouldn't you say?"

"Remind you of anyone?" My fiancé asked me.

"Hmm? No who?" I replied.

He gave me a stern look of sorts, with an additional strange smile and a certain gleam in his eyes. "Ooh… I guess… well… maybe. Except his isn't blonde."

He smiled, and closed the door behind him as we too headed out.

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A/N: I really hope you all liked this chapter. I didn't get a chance to go back over it, review, correct mistakes, or anything like that, so sorry. I wanted to get it up before the weekend ended. There's a little bit of foreshadowing at what might becoming of our couple in those last few lines, and I thought it was cute. Remember in the show Riley and Yamaki were dating, so I just took it for granted that (1) they stuck together and (2) they ended up becoming engaged. Anyway, this chapter dealt a lot with Takato's pessimistic view of any chance of convincing Yamaki to agree to let them go, which was followed by his realization that he does, in fact, love Rika. So I still have to get a little bit down before we move them into the digital world, so I expect the next chapter to start off on the day of or the day before they go back. So we're fast-forwarding two weeks people, and no, for the sake of the story line, Takato will not tell Rika how he feels in that elapsed time span. Sorry again I had to skip ahead an extended period time. I generally like to do things in consecutive days, but this is way too difficult. Sorry to anyone who was expecting a brawl of words between Takato, his Dad, and Yamaki at the apartment. I did have a war of words to go down planned, but I got too far into detail, and it was more realistic to go with the idea that they had been fired and that Hypnos all together had been shut down. Okay people, that's it for me. Please review because no one likes to post this stuff without feedback. Okay, peace!

Love Always. Rukato Forever.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"  
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	5. Welcome BackWelcome Back That Thugs Back

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A/N: Hello everyone! Good to see you're still in tuned. This will be chapter 5 and will also be… well… you'll find out at the end. I'm very sorry that it has to be… what it is. I'm really sorry… you have no idea. This chapter is brought to you by the letter Q. Love and be loved. Read… and review. Peace!  
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Welcome Back, Welcome Back, That Thug's Back

There's so much lost in the use of words. So much emotion is unaccounted for when trying to use words. They are limited to only what is said, and nothing more. When we are trying to convey what we mean, or how we feel… words never seem to be enough. We want someone to know what we are thinking, so that they have an inner look into what we mean, and not be limited to only understand the 'words.' We want so badly for them to know what we know… to feel how we feel… yet we cannot. We are universally tied to this world of words and expressing how we feel, and what we think by the vocal cords from wince 'words' take their origin. Yet, where are we without words?

A boy with brown hair walks down the streets of West Shinjuku with little intent of where he is headed. He is observing the streets and houses of what is, for now, his home. He takes in the full affect of the city and the buildings, knowing very well what his future holds. He takes in a whiff of odor and smells hot bread in the air. He changes course and heads into the bakery from where the smell is coming from.

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_'Hmm… seems like a nice place._ _It certainly smells good enough.'_

I notice a kid with brown hair in the corner of the store, behind a counter with the cash register at his reach. _He must be the cashier… but he couldn't be any older then I am?_

I reach out and grab two loaves of the freshest bread I can find and head over to the kid to pay for it. He sits up as I get closer and wipes his work clothes off in preparation for his job. I stop at the counter and look him in the eye, where I find he returns a kind and friendly stare. "Welcome to the Matsuda bakery." He says cheerfully.

"Yep." I say in response, as I look away from those eyes. I feel obliged to say more, but am not really in the mood to be talkative.  
He rings me up and says, "Seven-oh-four."

I pull out a ten-dollar bill and hand it to him. He goes to open the register, yet takes the lead and says, "So, you new around here?"  
_  
How'd he know?_ "Umm… yeah, I am. But, how'd you know that?" I ask.  
"I don't know… I just know a lot of the teenagers from around this area, and you didn't look familiar so I figured I either just didn't know you, or you were new."

I smile and say, "That would make some sense."  
"So, I'm Takato. Takato Matsuda... my family owns the bakery."  
"Oh, okay. So what do you do? Just sit here until whenever and get ah, paid for that?"  
"Well, yeah, I guess. I get an allowance, which lets my parents pay me less then minimum wage."

I give half a laugh at this, "That's cool. So um, where do you go to school? Or, ugh, where **did** you go to school?"  
"I went to the big public school downtown. So, where'd you move here from?"

_'Hmm… 'Big public school downtown'… wow this kids specific.'_ "Ugh, I just moved here from the states. I lived in Pennsylvania… well… the suburbs of Trenton really."

"Oh? That's cool, but what do you mean suburbs of Trenton?"  
"Oh, well I lived in a little town that was near a bridge that leads to Trenton, New Jersey."

"Oh, okay."

"So, what do I have to do to meets some friends around here?" I asked… trying to keep the conversation going. This kid seemed alright.  
"Well… I guess I can't really help you there. I mean, I can, but not right now. Me and my friends are leaving town for a little while today, but hey, after I get back I'd be more then happy to introduce you to them all." He says kindly.

"Thanks, I'll remember that next time I see ya. Okay… later." I said, as I began to walk away.  
"No problem… but hey," he stopped me, "what'd you say your name was?"

"I didn't." I said, and briefly considered walking away to cause some confusion to him, but quickly chose against this course of action. "It's Pat. Pat O'Donnell. But all my friends just called me Pito."

"Why Pito?" he asks me.  
"It's a long story, I can tell you later."  
"Alright, 'Pito', I guess I'll see you around."  
"Peace." I said, turning and walking out of the store without another word.

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"He seemed nice." I said to no one as I watched him turn up street, from my seat at the counter.

I looked up at the clock and realized my shift had ended while I was talking to him. Mom and Dad had given me only half the day's work so that I could do any last minute preparing before leaving. It was about 3 weeks ago when Yamaki had given me the great news, and mom and dad had grown to accept that I wasn't going to be around for a long time. It took longer for the people at Hypnos to get the systems back up and running so we were still waiting around.

I headed to the back room and hung up my apron as I was done for the day, and headed up the stairs to triple check everything again. As I reach my room only one thing stood out, as I blinked with the green and red lights at me on top of the book bag on my bed. I walk over and pick up my cell phone as it blinks "MISSED CALL!" I flip it open and the message changes, "8 MISSED CALLS."  
"What! Who called me eight times?" I say to the walls with ears.

I press the small buttons until it shows up with recent calls missed and I'm not quite surprised at who called: "Rika" "Rika" "Rika" "Rika" "Rika" "Rika" "Rika" "Rika"

It also tells me I have a new message, and I'm a bit hesitant… do I really want to know what she wants?  
The answers yes and I'm holding the phone to my ear waiting for the machine to play my messages. "You have… ONE new message…"

"Takato! Where the hell are you and why aren't you picking up your phone!? Get over here now…" she pauses, "Rika."

I give a sigh and know something's wrong at the Nonaka house. I look down at my book bag which is full and decided that skipping one last triple-check won't get me killed, right?

"MOM," I yell as I start to walk back downstairs, "We need to go to the Nonaka's!"

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_It's almost time to make my escape… and I have nothing to worry about, if everything goes according to plan._

I catch me talking to myself and stop it at once. Dad doesn't know we're leaving today so he won't care if I, by chance, go missing for the afternoon, right? I hate to play games behind my parents back but this is much too important… I have to go back, and I can't disappoint anyone.

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I get out of car slowly as I prepare for the worst. _What could be the worst though?_

I walk up the ever-familiar path to the front door and knock lightly. I wait a few minutes and try to anticipate what's going on inside from the sounds and scenery around me. There's nothing coming from the inside of house… at least no sounds. And the scenery couldn't be more perfect! There are a few flowers growing around the door and I see bee's flying around them, collecting for the hive. The sun is high in the air, and it seems poised to begin its descent. The clouds that are in the air are just enough to shield whatever of the sun they're suppose to be, but not too many to cause rain or just a cloudy day. Today's the perfect day… the perfect day weather-wise… the perfect day to go back to the digital world… the perfect day to tell her. Yes, today is the day.

The door opens and Mrs. Nonaka smiles at me almost immediately. She speaks in a whisper, as if the doorway was a megaphone to announce all she said to the world, "She's in her room."

She motions me in and I follow, however, walk past her and head straight for Rika's room. It doesn't take all but ten seconds, and I pause at the door. It's closed and the last time I tried to walk into her room when it was closed she had locked it. Had she locked herself in her room? Is that why she needed me here? I'll only find out by opening the door.

I reach out and turn the knob and… the door opens slowly, but creaks none as if someone had just oiled it down. What I see in her room is a catastrophe. It looks bombed out and depleted. I step in and look around for some form of life… whether it be Rika or some Martian life climbing out from under one of the huge piles of clothes throughout the room. I didn't know she even had this many clothes… I mean really… it just… there's so many, it's almost as if…

"Oooooooooooooooooooooooh. I get it now." I say, announcing my presence to possibly pull Rika out of one of the piles.  
It works, but rather, she sits up from a lying position in her bed. "What took so long?" she says aggressively.

I'm not stupid enough to try and argue with her… anymore. I've learned time, after time that when she's angry she's poised to explode in anger, regardless of who gets killed in the blast and aftermath of the explosion- even if its me. "I'm really sorry, I was busy making a shrine to you in my closet when you called." I said jokingly.

"Well it better well damn be a good one! You need to help me pick an… ergh, '_outfit'_ to take from… **this**." She said, trying to slip the first word by me, and pointing to the mess of clothes with the second.

"Ya see, mom's…"

"Making you take some '_decent'_ clothes to a world where they'll just get torn up?" I said, giving her the hint that I agreed with her that these clothes were in no way decent. The truth, however, was that they weren't decent for Rika. They weren't designed with Rika in mind, actually. They're all really nice clothes, and this should be interesting enough, but to her… this just wasn't her style… and I liked that about her.

"Exactly! I mean, they'll just end up ruined, if I ever wear them… WHICH I WON'T!" she screams so that her mom can hear from outside her room.

I laugh at her, walk over, and grab her by the hands. "Let's just power through this, and get back, okay? Alls you have to do is pick out some clothes and then… well, you could wear them when we get there, which should be very pretty on you (she snorts, but I notice the blush creep onto her cheeks), you could not wear them and just leave them in the bag the whole time, or maybe we'll just throw them into a ditch when we get there." I say, and she turns her face from looking away to look at me.

She's smiling and streaks of red run across her face. "Now I remember why I married you." She says, and I laugh. However, I feel a little uneasy about telling her how I feel now, because the idea is on her mind.

"It's funny that you say that, just remind you to tell you something later. Now, let's see you in some girly clothes." I say, and an earlier thought of once wondering how she'd look in a skirt creeps back into my head, as my wish is finally fulfilled.

She smiles and blushes a little bit more, "Don't press your luck. You know I'd only do this for you, so don't even think about trying to get a camera." She threatens.

"Me? A camera? Incriminating pictures of you online and for the trip to the Digital world? Nah! Me? Never!" I say so sarcastically she can't help but laugh.

"Whatever, I'm going." She says, picking up some clothes off her bed she had obviously picked out already, or maybe forced to choose by her mom, she forces me out of her room so she can get changed.

I walk into the kitchen where her mom, grandma, and my mom are sitting at the dinner table with pads and paper. Why……? "If no one else, we knew you could convince her to try on the clothes." Her grandma says and I laugh. So I guess I was set up?

I go and sit next to her grandma and I'm facing the entrance from where I walked in, and know she'll be coming out any second now. I look at what's in front of me and see a pad of paper and a pencil for myself as well. "What are these for?" I ask.

"We'll be judging her outfits." Her mom says. "Until we get the perfect outfit."

I realize this is exactly what Rika doesn't want, and pull the paper towards me, and write two things on it in huge lettering and flip the pad over before anyone sees what I wrote.

We wait a few more seconds and I hear the rattle of her doorknob and the door opens. "In here, Rika!" her grandma calls. I hear a few hesitant footsteps but she steps into the kitchen reluctantly and looking utterly beautiful! She stands at the door way with an open mouth in shock that we were all sitting and waiting… but my mouths open too as I stare at her. She's got a yellow gown, of sorts, on that falls to her feet with a white ribbon in her hair which contrast against her flaming hair, which she let down, like a red rose in a field of dandelions.

She looks absolutely pissed as the three grown women scribble on their papers and I just stare at her. She gives me a questioning look that also holds a lot of threat in it and I just seem to refuse to let my jaw to come back up as I stare at her in one of the most beautiful outfits I've ever seen. "Well, Rika, here are your scores." Says her mom, as she holds up a 7.5

_Seven point five!?_ Her Grandma lifts up an 8 and my mom lifts up a 9. They all look down their row to me and I jump to my sense and lift of my pad to reveal "I REFUSE"

Rika gives a soft chuckle at mine, but doesn't look like she'll forgive any of the others. "I can't believe you… I can't believe you!" she seems to be building up steam in preparation to flip out. I point at my answer with my finger a few more times to maybe get her to laugh again, but instead, she turns around and heads back for her room.

I know if she gets that door closed and locked no one's getting in there for the rest of the day, and I jump out of my seat, as it falls backwards and falls to the ground with a loud clatter. But I don't care, I won't let her lock herself in that room. I rush around the counter, and run as fast as I can to her room… she's closing the door… I reach for it… and…

"HOLY CRAP!" I scream out, and she opens the door temporarily to pull me inside and closes it behind me as I'm thrown into the room. I'm clutching left knuckle as if my life depended on it. I had tried to keep her from closing the door on me and put my hand out to stop her, only to have her try and slam the door on my hand.

I look down at it and the imprint from the door is on the knuckles of my hand. I can see the blood veins pulsating and the line is purple and blue. I place my hand so that my kneecaps are squeezing it, because I think this will help, but obviously, it's not. I want to yell at her for closing the door on my hand, but I take it into perspective and know she probably wasn't expecting it to be me diving to stop the door from closing. She's locked the door and is now standing over me as I squeeze my hand as hard as I can, in hopes that maybe the pain will stop. Yeah, right.

"Ergh… you alright?" she asks modestly.  
"Are you?" I ask back, knowing she's probably hurt knowing she had been played.  
She looks at me with honest concern, and says, "I am if you are."

I smile and let go of my hand and it seems like what I thought was pain has just exploded into complete and utter anguish, if not torture! I want badly to reach back down and squeeze my hand as hard as I can, but I try and ignore the pain for a second and say, "Then I'm perfect."

She smiles and blinks at me, looks at my hand and puts out her hand, "Let me see."

I'm glad she's not mad for what I just put her through and put my hand in hers so she can examine it. I look away as I fear for the look she'll give in grief that…

"Ahhh! Stop! Stop! Stop!" I yell as I try to pull my hand away but she's got an impossibly tight grip on my hand.

I fall to my knees in pain and yet she still holds onto my hand, pressing down upon the line with her other hand to cause me such pain! Why would she do this!

Another good second, maybe two with me yelling on the ground in pain and she finally lets go. "**I TOLD YOU**, I would only do **THIS** for **YOU**." She says, looking down upon me in disgrace.

I try to recollect myself and considered responding, but again, when Rika's angry, you just want to get as far away from the explosion as possible. "I'm… I'm sorry." I offer.

"You better be! Never do that again! Promise!" she says.  
"Alright! Alright… I promise I'll never lie to you again!" I said, suspecting that's what she meant by 'that.'  
"Good… now get up. We've still got this stupid outfit to pick out." She says.

I thank God she's giving up that easily, but look at my hand and know she didn't give up easily at all. I slowly get up and look at her, but she's walked away. She over by a pile of clothes trying to pick something else out. "You still want to pick something out?"

She pauses as if realizing that she doesn't have to now, goes back to picking out clothes, and says, "I refuse to let her think she won."  
I smile and laugh for a second. "**I refuse **too."  
She turns around with a smile and laughs as well. God it's good to have Rika.

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After another hour of picking out clothes from the piles… and several failed attempts to get Rika to try a few more outfits on for me… we finally agreed on a nice set of clothes. I wouldn't let her turn the white ribbon down, so that was in there. She chose a wonderful pink silk shirt to wear, and in the end, I was able to convince her to choose the only skirt, white, in the room! She was most definitely going to be wearing this outfit somewhere down the line now. We were just finishing up packing her book bag and getting ready to leave when I knew it was the right time. "Alright, you ready to go?" she asked from sitting on her bed.

"Just one second." I said, coming to sit next to her.

She smiled at me for a good few seconds before I leaned in and we kissed. It was filled with just as much passion, electricity, and love as it had when we first kissed, and I didn't see that ever changing between us. We kissed for the better half of half a minute before pulling away. I looked deep into her eyes and this was everything I had ever hoped for and imagined love would be. Being able to stare into the eyes of the someone and know that you would do anything for them… you would cry for them… you would fight for them… you would protect them… you would crush your hand in the doorway for them… you would die for them… "Rika… can I tell you something?" I asked quietly, as if wanting no one else to hear what I had to say except her… and her alone.

"Whatever you want, Takato." She said with just as much of a hushed voice.

"Rika… I…" I trailed off… I was losing confidence fast… and I didn't know why. Maybe it was the fear of rejection flooding into my mind… the fear that haunted me from last Autumn… from that rainy day… from that goddamn rainy day…

However, my thought process thought of what wonders that rainy day had brought me… that same day was when I first re-met Rika. More positive thoughts flooded my mind as I remembered too, all of last Autumn and all of Winter. My mind raced through spring and I remembered that night in the parking lot… my self-assurance that there could be no rejection, because I was positive she felt the same. She felt… the same.

"Takato?" she asked, still looking into my eyes.

I didn't bother giving any sign that I had jerked back to life from a memory but continued looking into her eyes and said with emphatic pride, "Rika… I love you."

Her stare wavered for a moment and then she blinked. Her mouth hung open a bit and she seemed expressionless, yet so calm? What was **she** thinking? What was going through **her** head? What thoughts were racing through **her** mind?

She stared another moment at me with that expressionless face, but then she blinked again and she wore a determined look, "Do you mean that?"

I, however, did not waver from my stare, nor blink and look away. I stared into her eyes still and said, "I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it, Rika."

Her jaw shook for a few seconds, and she took in a deep breath. She stared deeper into my eyes, but not passionately. She was trying to test me… to see if I was lying to her or not… she had to be positive… and I would wait until the end of time for her. "Rika… I…"

She lunged at me and tackled me onto the bed. She held me down, hugging me for as long as she could. She buried her face into my shoulder as she lied on me, and I felt warm stings on my shoulder and knew what was happening. I put my right hand on her back and my left on her head, patting it… letting her know everything was going to be alright. I'd been here before, and I was well prepared for it.

She cried her fear out into my shoulder for a only a few minutes, and finally pulled away and hugged me tightly. "I… I love you too, Takato." She said, with so much emotion words are inadequate… words are never enough.

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Finally, after another few minutes of sitting on her bed in the safety of the others arms, we exited the room, and it was very near three o' clock! We'd been in there clear over two hours! We came out hand in hand, and made our way for the kitchen, where we found the three mom's waiting, talking, and drinking coffee. They welcomed us warmly, and were certainly glad to see Rika again. We were told that Yamaki had called only a few minutes ago, probably while Rika was testing the truth of my words I thought, and that… it was time!

We made our way for the cars, we would be taking Mrs. Nonaka's, and Rika and I were the last out of the house, as I closed the door behind us. We walked slowly to the car, taking notice of all the good things about today. The weather… the bee's… the flowers… the position of the sun, which was further down then when I had entered the house… the clouds… all of these things with which I found a new love for. This was, quite easily, the greatest walk of my life.

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"Mom! Dad! I'm going to Takato's!" I called to the rest of the house from the front door.  
"Okay honey! Be home for dinner!" Mom called back.  
_I won't. _"Okay!" I yelled back as I started running.

I ran for about three blocks, that is until I knew I was out of sight from the house, and changed direction for the park. If I was there first then they wouldn't ask why my parents weren't there with me. My brown hair flew into my vision, and I pushed it out of the way. The old hideout wasn't far into the parks, and I had plenty of time before any of them would be heading there. My book bag, and the little clothing, sock puppet, and other essential items located in it, bounced back and forth against my back as I hurried towards my date with destiny.

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The ride was nice and short. We arrived at edge of the woods, and parked, and then walked to the old hideout. It took us a while, but we were finally walking up the long stairs to get to the place itself.

As we came up the last flight we saw Jeri sitting just outside the entrance talking with Yamaki nonchalantly. She noticed us coming and sat up to come greet us, "Hey guys!"

She rushed over and actually ran past me to hug Rika first. She turned at me and laughed, "What'd you expect?"  
I turn to look at a plain of grass and put up a fake tone of upset and said, "A hug…"  
Both girls laughed at this for a little while, and I took this opportunity to go and talk with Yamaki. "It's nice to see you again, Takato."

"Likewise. So, what have you guys got planned for protecting us?" I asked, eager to know.  
"We were able to get everything back up and running at Hypnos, thankfully, and that also includes the Juggernaut program." He told me.  
"Wait… isn't that the big hole in the sky thing?"

He chuckled to himself for a second, "Yeah. That just about describes it. It was a catastrophe the first few times we tried to use it, because it overloaded the systems and wouldn't allow for us to stop it. It also helped that those first two times we used it was for the purpose of cleansing the real world of digimon." He continued, Rika and Jeri had long since stopped laughing and were now eagerly listening to him as well.

"However, the data we had stored recorded storms of epic proportions occurring in the digital world when we did activate Juggernaut. Causing data streams to lose control, and the weather to change severely." He went on. "This time around, though, we spent the extra week modifying the program so that it won't cause a rift in the sky for digimon to be sucked up into, or to leave in. Not that there are any here to leave that is."

I wasn't positive of where he was going with this, but I think I was starting to get the idea. "So… if we were to get into trouble there…"  
"You let us know and we'll turn the machine on and get you out of harms way."  
"But wait… last time… the PDA you gave us only worked when there was a storm… how are we suppose to let you know that we're in trouble unless there's already a storm going on?"

"I knew you'd ask that." He responded smartly. "Well, I also had Dolphin work on the PDA some more, as well as a few of the other, and they think they've made it to work whenever you need it to work."

"They think? You mean they're not positive?" Rika asked.

"I'd trust my own life with Dolphin if he was only Eighty percent positive he could protect it. He's ninety-five percent it'll work in the digital world." He retorted.

I nodded. So I guess… we were set. "HEY CHUMLIES!" I heard a familiar voice holler at the top of his lungs from the last few steps.

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It took another half hour before everyone else arrived. Henry, his dad, and Suzy arrived last. Suzy was crying that she wanted to go, but Henry's dad held onto her tightly, and wasn't going to let her leave. She did, however, have a bag with her, should he change his mind, and thus, continued to try and persuade her father into letting her go, with empty promises of sweets, candy, and 'cherries on top.'

When at last Yamaki had finished explaining how they were going to watch out for us to the last few people it was time to go. "Alright, guys, it's finally happening. We're finally going back!" I announced to everyone and we all cheered. Kenta had taken it upon himself to make a new team sign that looked different, yet almost exactly the same.

The only difference was that he had turned Rika's face to a smiling one, and drawn it next to mine. It was somewhat embarrassing, but we shared the moment and held hands looking at the drawing. Love was the greatest thing in the world…

We examine the digimon side more, however, then ours. It was a sign of what was to come, and what was meant for the near future. I traced my way down to the bottom where I saw…

"Did you guys think you could leave me behind?" I heard someone yell from the stairs.

I looked to the steps, and up them came Ryo Akiyama. I suddenly felt a surge of anger come upon me, and my blood boiled to dangerous levels. No one was holding me back, and I took this advantage. I walked over to him slowly, with arms raised in acceptance, and I'm sure the other were expecting me to show him friendship and forgiveness. He, too, looked warmly at me, and raised his arms in preparation for a hug. However, as we closed in on the last foot, I brought my hands down and pushed him over.

He fell flat on his butt onto the dirt ground. And looked up at me with an angry face, that sought revenge. "No cheap shots, right?" I said, turned, and walked back to the group.

No one in particular was happy with me, or with what I had done. I didn't care, because I was only looking out for number one there. However, I took refuge in Rika's smile. She was probably pleased with what I did, but not as much as I was. "That was unnecessary, Takato." Henry called me out.

I turned to him with fire and wanted to tell him off, and I was interrupted, "No… no, it wasn't, Henry. If anything, it was necessary. Don't think I'm gonna let you get away with it though Takato." Ryo said.

I gave him a stare colder then anything he'd ever seen. He grimaced at me and looked away to the rest of the group. "Anyway, I'm here now, so let's get going."

"I have to explain to you how we're going to protect you, first." Yamaki said.  
"Okay, let's hear it." He replied, walking over and standing so that Yamaki was facing away from the entrance now.  
I looked at Henry with anger, "I'm not too sure how much I like him anymore."  
"Takato…" he groaned.

"I didn't say I don't like him… just that I'm not sure how much I do like him anymore." I responded, and the discussion ended. All was quiet except for Suzi's groaning as her father held on still tightly, Yamaki and Ryo talking, and the rest of the group humming, or talking to one another. Kazu and Kenta were off to the side examining the flag some more, Rika and Jeri had trotted off a little bit to a corner talking secretly to one another. Henry walked away to go and talk to Ryo and Yamaki, who had slowly made there way away from the hideout. I was left to stand alone in the middle of the dirt patches in front of the hideout.

I saw a sudden violent movement out of the corner of my eye and someone screamed "NO!"

I turned to see who had screamed and saw a blur of hair go just past my stomach, and I turned to see Suzi making a break for it! Everyone stared in shock and Henry's dad screamed, "SUZI! NO!"

I took to my feet and rushed after her, because I knew everyone else was out of the way… there was no one to stop her except me. I followed her into the hideout, and I slipped down into the hole and saw her only a foot in front of me. "I'm Coming Wopmon!" she screamed.

I crawled as fast as I could and grabbed her by the leg at the last second. I began to pull her away and push myself forward. I moved to in front of her, and sat in between her and the portal, with no more then a foots distance away from it. "Alright, (breath in) let's, just (breath out) go back up to the top level and get you back home, eh?" I said, rather then asked.

She gave me the most dangerous, angry, evil face she could muster, but she knew she had lost. She crossed her arms and pouted for a moment. "No!"  
"Now, come on! We'll tell Lopmon you wanted to come, you just couldn't."  
"No! No! No! No! NO! I won't leave!" she screamed.

I saw Henry slide down to the bottom of the hole just then, and I knew I had stopped the problem… the catastrophe had been averted. With book bag on back, "Well, Henry and me will just have to drag you out then." I said, ending the conversation there, and started to move back into a crawling position.

She screamed again, "NO!"

She crawled forward and pushed me with as much force as she could muster. I was in such an odd position… it was so unsuspected… so uncalled for… the last thing I saw was the black of the ground walls, and then…

Then I saw many lights. Green… Red… Blue… White… Lights… everything was so bright I was blinded… and I was falling.

I was falling right through the sky… I felt my stomach leave me as I fell still faster… faster… faster! This was, quite easily, the worst fall of my life.

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A/N: Wow! Awesome! Yet… so sad. Takato's been pushed right into the portal without warning or anyone else behind him. Not quite what he was planning on, right? I just thought it was a really good idea. Anyway, so I need to clear something's up. First, the title- '_Welcome Back, Welcome Back, That Thug's Back_' Okay, that's a song lyric in a song by Mase (Welcome Back 2005 Remix). I love the song, and it seemed to sort of fit. "Welcome back." As in 'welcome back' to the digital world. And "That Thug's Back" is a reference to Ryo's second encounter with Takato. Okay, other things: I added myself to the chapter. Haha. I read a story recently where the author put themselves in there for no apparent reason other then to talk to the main characters, and I thought it was hilarious, so I did the same. I made references to future encounters, which probably won't happen, but if they do, I had me promise I'd explain my nickname 'Pito' (which you'll find in my profile.) Other hidden jokes you might have missed: Takato explains not getting to Rika's house sooner because he was making a shrine to her in his closet… reminiscent to _Hey, Arnold!_ anyone? Hahaha, before I typed that part I went down stairs to get something to eat and saw it on tv, sat down, saw her shrine and knew I had something to add to the story. The last three thing that you might have missed- Takato thinks back to imaging Rika in a skirt. That's true. I had started to re-read Autumn Leaves a little like a week ago and I saw that when they go on I think their second date he thinks about it when he first sees her. Maybe it was the first date? Wow… I'm the author and I still don't know… that's kind of pathetic. Haha. Anyway, two more things: I don't distinctly remember from the episode itself, but in the show when they go through the portal they do start falling and they see all of those weird light things. I think they actually stop falling at one point, but I don't remember exactly. For future references- he won't be stopping in the fall. The last thing: yes, it finally happened. They admitted their love for one another. Should be the end of Promise, right? Wrong. You wouldn't believe what I've got planned. Anyway, now, in the pre-authors note, and first line of this one, I mentioned how there was something very sad happening. This is it… this just past Friday (Jan.26th) my high school got report cards back. I didn't do… particularity well. My worst quarter ever. I have a 2.65 GPA right now, I'm suppose to be up in the 3.0 range. That's not good. I've taken it upon myself to take the correct steps to fix these grade problems, and that means extreme damage control. For your information, I immediately quit the track team. I didn't see the coach yesterday so he'll be finding out on Monday. I'm not really worth much to the team so its no big loss. However, while my English grade went from a C to an A since I started typing on FanFiction (that's no lie, it really did) I have to… well… I'm taking a temporary reprieve. I'm placing Promise on permanent hiatus until my grades come back up, and thus, there will be no updating until then. You have to take it from my perspective people: your grades are dropping from B's to C+'s in EVERY class? This is not to say I'm going to stop typing. I promise (haha, that's the title of the story) to keep typing, and, in three months, when we get report cards back, I'll return with a guarantee of three new chapters for updating. Until then, I'll miss you all. Please review in the meantime, because I really am going to need some motivation for the next three months. Thanks to all for reading this far, and who will be patient enough to wait around until I get back. If you give up on it… drop your alerts on updates, remove it from your favorites, hate me for doing this, or just won't read the rest of the story and/or any more of my works… I'll forgive you. Thanks again for following this far. It was a good chapter to leave on, at least, right? Okay, peace!

**Love Always. Rukato Forever.**

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"  
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	6. Welcome Back Welcome Back Takato's Back

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A/N: I don't think you've quite realized the seriousness of our journey… allow me to show you… Love and be loved. Read… and review. Peace!  
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Welcome Back, Welcome Back, Takato's Back

Then I saw many lights. Green… Red… Blue… White… Lights… everything was so bright I was blinded… and I was falling.

I was falling right through the sky… I felt my stomach leave me as I fell still faster… faster… faster!

The lights seemed determined to blast through my closed eyelids and shatter my very vision, or what was left of it. I thought suddenly of anything and everything that could take my mind off this… with no success. I feel as if I'll die on my way down. This… truly… must be the end.

I opened my eyes and the lights were fading from the corners of my eyes… and instead, my vision was clogged with a black menace that lay just ahead. It was a layer of dark glass-like material and I was falling right towards it. I gave little effort to change my course of direction, for it's nearly impossible when you're falling as I am.

I hit the black 'glass' with such force I find I am suddenly lightheaded. My vision, once again, is being blocked… but not by light this time… but by shadow. I see nothing but darkness around me, and I'm losing myself quickly. I see a rocky terrain below… yet I haven't a care for it…

I… am… losing…

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_Where… where am I?_

I lift my head to look around, but can't even move my neck without feeling burning pain in every bone of my body and a stinging spasm in my head.

I roll around in my ditch that I've landed in… or did I create this ditch with my fall? Whatever. I roll over onto my back and see nothing but the night sky above me… so it's night then? "Just as when I left."

I pull myself up, reluctantly, and into a sitting position. I grab both my knees with my hands, and wrap my arms around them. I feel pain in every inch of my body… but why? When I last fell through to the digital world, there was no pain at all when I hit the floor. None.

I let go of my knees, and dig them into the ground… sand, actually. I stand up on them, but I become lightheaded again. Not so much as when I was falling, but a great deal nonetheless. I try to stand up, but my legs won't carry me, and my knees won't allow for it. I'm not too sure my head would care to go for a ride just yet as well.

I immediately look around… _they have to be here… they just have to…_

I am offered no comfort, as I see no form of life at all… human or digital. I see that miles, upon miles of sand, surround me. "I guess… I'm in a desert of some sorts."

I stand up, and don't get a single step away before my body refuses me, and my legs give way. I look down at them in frustration, and anger. "Well, if you don't want to move, how else am I suppose to get out of here?" I ask of them loudly. I sit back down, out of the ditch, and look up to where I could not see before… the sight shocks me.

The rotating ball that, when we were last here, was the real world is still there. However, its form frightens me beyond breath. I try to catch it… but it has run away from me so that I may not look at this sight any longer. The globe that had been 'my world' has now been replaced with a black orb of sorts. Blood red chains, which eerily remind me of the D-Reaper, surround it and it seems to be keeping the world in shackles. It pulsates at random intervals, never staying the same, never maintaining any order. Flashes of an even darker light flash from outside the globe and seemed to want to break open the chains that bound them so tightly. It scares me to look at it, yet I find I cannot tear my eyes away. My mouth hangs open as I watch lights of black shoot out from my 'home' and try to break open the chains that bound them. Are… are these chains holding the darkness in… or keeping the light out?

I suddenly become aware of everything that surrounds me. I notice larger holes in the ground everywhere in front of me; yet, they are too big to be created from the others… as their size could swallow ten of my ditches whole. Further up ahead are canyon walls, solidifying the fact that I'm in a desert, but the walls themselves are repulsive. They are ill formed, and take odd shapes for walls of solid rock. I realize there is no cactus, or any plants for that matter anywhere to be seen. I am completely, and utterly surrounded by nothing but sand and rock!

I decline to listen to the pain of my body once again, and try to stand on my own. I make it a few feet before my legs threaten to give way, but I stay standing… I'm walking on thin ice… but at least I'm walking.

I head over to the other holes in the ground, and am only a few feet away. I walk slowly, still, and approach them with caution. Just over the top of one of the hills and… good Lord!

I stare confounded at what lies in this hole… in this ditch… in this grave. At the bottom, which is probably five feet down all around, lie masses of Digimon, with their data slipping away as they lay there! A Gazimon, and a Darkizamon are the only one's I recognize. There's so many though… how… how did this happen? Why aren't they dead yet? I stand too long along the fringes of the hole and they notice me… they quickly make their way over to the side I am standing on. I am repulsed to watch them come closer, as the stronger ones climb over the weaker. A small digimon I had not noticed earlier comes crawling out of the shadows… a Gabumon… and I watch as he is deleted before my very eyes. His data floats away to nothing and I feel no justice is served for his untimely demise…

I look back down as the stronger, or, at least, the less weak ones climb over the others and make their way towards me. I, again, become repulsed… and I… and I… I…

**_LAULHG!_**

I stare down at the ground, where I just vomited all over the sand. A mixture of nausea from looking on at the digimon, and weakness from my fall combined to force that out of me.

I step away from the '_grave_' and venture forward, yet I hear the groans of the digimon in the one I have just left, as they know I am leaving them to die…, as I know I am leaving them to die.

I slowly make my way past more, and more '_graves_' and hear more and more groans, and call from them for help. The weakness in my legs leaves me, and I run as fast as I can to get away from it. Who would do such a thing? What monstrosity would be capable of causing such mass devastation?

I run past the last hole and continue running; for fear that they may crawl out of their deathbeds and come after me. I run until my legs will carry me no more… I trip… fall… and hit the ground with much force, but it is dead weight, as I cannot allow for myself to continue on any further.

Shall I just lay here, until the others find me? That could be days… week… months! They may never find me, in fact. I feel weak, and defeated, and a nap should do me some good… right here… in this warm… _sand_…

"I don't mean to disrupt, but you look like you could use a hand."

I jump to my knees, and look ahead to see three sharp claws pointed straight for my face… a dark face only but a foot away from mine… and death staring me in the eye…

"Who… who are you!" I scream, taking my backpack off, and reaching inside of it.  
"I would have to be a BlackAugumon, wouldn't I?" he says, with somewhat of a Scottish accent about him.  
I reach around in my bag for the device, but keep him talking, "What… what do you want!"  
"Well, I'll be damned if I didn't already say it. I said, 'it looks like you could use a hand.' "  
I reach aimlessly around in the bag still… and suddenly realize just exactly where the new PDA is. With Yamaki… at the park… in my world. "You just… stay away from me!" I screamed, the terror evident in my voice.  
"I just wanted to help." He complains.  
"I don't need your help! You just get-"  
"Listen, sonny, if I wanted your data, do even **you** think you'd be alive right now?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but quickly shut it realizing what he said made sense. He took my silence as the 'go-ahead.' "So, as I was saying, it looks like you could use a little help getting around."

I stared at him in fear… if he could kill me if he wanted to… why didn't he? Why was he trying to keep me alive? "Why are you keeping me alive?"

"You sure are a thick one, aren't you? We all have to look out for one another now that we're all in the same boat. No one's safe out here, ya know?"

What? I stared at him with intent, "No… actually, I don't know what you mean."  
He cocked his head at a strange angle, as he obviously didn't believe what I had just said. "What are you talking about boy?"  
"I said, I don't know what you mean."  
"Are you… are you serious? You… you don't know?" he asked.

I nodded, and he looked around suspiciously as if afraid that someone would eavesdrop on us. "You… your coming with me whether you like it or not, now." He said, rather then demanded.

He came over to my side and actually picked me up! He must have a lot of brute strength to just be able lift me up like this. He began to run in a certain direction… I wasn't sure which way. He was incredibly swift for a Rookie digimon carrying a human teenager. He moved quickly through the sand, barely letting his toes touch the ground before gliding another large distance. He scared me with his power… "Say, what kind of a shape is that, by the way?" he asked me as he moved along.

"What do you mean?" I asked back, and I could see up ahead an underpass, and a small fire was lit underneath of it.  
"What shape are you in right now? I've never seen this before. I mean, you are a shape-shifting digimon, aren't you?" he said, and laughed out loud, but I didn't.

We were upon the fire in moments… he had covered almost a hundred yards in like… four seconds! What speed! He quickly noticed that I wasn't laughing with him though, and put me down next to the fire. He walked around to a hole in a wall, and yelled into it, "Back!"  
He came back to me, and sat down opposite of me from across the fire. "So… what kind of digimon did you say you were?"

"I didn't." I stalled.

"Well…" he waited for me.

"I mean to say, I didn't say what kind… because… well… I'm not a digimon." I said.  
He stared at me a little more ferociously, as if not believe me. "You mean to say you're…"  
"Human."

His mouth hung open for a second, his teeth showed, and they were barred. What's going on here? Suddenly, from behind him, out from the hole, came a flaming digimon. It was another Darkizamon! I now let my mouth hang open, and I felt a little less courageous. The dark, flaming, lizard stared at me intently for a moment, then looked down at BlackAugumon and nodded. "Whose this?" he said.

His voice was brutal with a lot of force in it, as if he was trying to scare me out of my skin. He walked away off to a corner that I couldn't see of whatever this 'home' was. "A human." He responded.

The Darkizamon stopped in his tracks, and turned around to look at his friend. "Who sent you?" he said, yet did not remove his eyes from BlackAugumon.

I looked from one to the other, and then said, "You mean me?"

He pulled his eyes away and screamed at me, "YES YOU!"  
I pushed away from him with my hands, and tried to get as far away as I could. "N-n-no one!" I yelled back.

He stared back at BlackAugumon, with much brutality in his eyes. "If you-"  
"We both know what'll happen if you come at me." He said.

Darkizamon seemed to be biting his tongue on a retaliation, and finally turned around and headed back for the corner. BlackAugumon watched him a few seconds longer, but then turned his attention back on me. "So, you're really a human?"  
I waited a few seconds, and said, "Yes."

"Then it's no wonder you don't know what's wrong here." He said, but didn't go any further. He stared off out into the desert again, and seemed to be lost in his own little world.  
"Umm… What… what's happened?" I asked.

He looked at me as if noticing me for the first time. "What do you mean?"

"This place… it used to be so… so full of life… so real… so…" I said, but trailed off.  
"You mean before it happened?" he stated, rather then asked, as he went back to looking out into the darkness.  
Darkizamon returned from wherever with a large stack of wood and eyed me for a second. I looked back at BlackAugumon, "Before what happened?"

He didn't look back at me, nor did he flinch. He showed no signs of even of ever hearing me ask him the question. He just continued to stare out into the desert, but answered me, saying, "The Darkness."

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BlackAugumon and I walked along the sand, going wherever he was taking me. We had stayed in his 'home' for as long as Darkizamon would have me. He seemed intent on getting rid of me, for some reason. BlackAugumon had also refused to tell me anything more as long as we were there. He had just asked me why I was alone. "I got separated from the rest of my friends."

"And your friends, were they humans as well?" he asked me.  
"Yes. But, why does that matter?"  
"It doesn't. Proceed."

"Well… I guess I just lost them. They were coming in through the portal after me… or… at least I hope they were."  
"What portal?"  
"Oh, um… well, ya see, there was this portal in my world that led us to the digital world."  
"I see… go on."

"Well, I went ahead of them, and I just assumed they followed, and now we're separated."  
"Well… that's all I need to know. I'll try and help you find your friends, but I can't make any promises."  
"Thanks…" I said, but I wanted more, "but, um… can you tell me about this 'darkness'?"  
"THE Darkness." He said with anger.

"Sorry… can you tell me more about 'The Darkness.' " I asked.

"The Darkness is everything we, Digimon, have to fear. Its main objective is to destroy everything and everyone in its path. No one walks away with even a chance to live, when they stand in the way of the Darkness."  
"But… what **is** it?!" I said, irritated that he was avoiding the subject.  
He slowed down his pace, as he made to talk about it more intently. "The Darkness… it spread so quickly… so vastly… so furiously."  
"Sounds a lot like-"  
"The D-Reaper? Well that would make a lot of sense, wouldn't it. Just shut up and listen to me, okay."

"Alright…" I said, in my infamous defeated voice.

"Good. Now, where was I? Ah yes. As you very well know, the D-Reaper wasn't defeated right as soon as it got back to the digital world. Oh no! It took everyone and everything it could with it. No prisoners. Regardless, eventually, it was taken down. However, that is only the beginning. Whatever was left of the D-Reaper… gave way for the Darkness."

"The Darkness was born from the ashes of the D-Reaper… spawn from hatred and evil throughout both worlds… powered by the nothingness that engulfs all digimon and humans alike." He said.

He spoke as if the Darkness was a poetic beauty. He was talking like it was some sort of untouchable god. "You wouldn't believe the tales you'll hear about it, but I'll tell you all that I know."

I nodded, as we slowly kept walking, yet I no longer cared where. "It takes its origin from a place caught between our world, and the other world… which, I guess… is your world."

_'A place caught between the real world and the digital world?'_ No such place exist… at least… none that I know of.

"It turns best friends into mortal enemies. Digimon that have grown up together, and even digivolved together- are suddenly at each other's throats."

"That's horrible." I said out loud… but I don't think he cared.

"Your worst nightmares are what you hope for when you close your eyes… despair is upon you… distrust is considered honorable… depression is omnipotent… and the cold feeling of death is the warmest you'll ever get."

I found myself captivated in his mysterious nature, and poetic flow. He had captured me in his story… yet I was still afraid of this, 'Darkness.' I'm sure it's nothing we haven't dealt with already… right?

"Only a few digimon have ever gone up against it… the rest simply got in its way for advancement. The few that were able to speak on it were so crushed… they spoke terrible, terrible things on it."  
"Like what?" I asked.  
"The only one I can truly remember was a WarGreymon's speech just before dying. He said, _'Abandon all hope… for The Darkness is truly hell, and deletion… is the easy way out_.' "

I no longer felt the poetic movement. It had been lost in his last declaration. I was now, actually, afraid of this horror. I noticed more things about my surroundings as he talked… namely that, throughout my entire journey so far- from the fall till now- it remained 'night time.' Was this a sign of 'The Darkness?'

"No one really knows where it came from, where it started, or how it started. It was just there…" he continued "No one took it seriously… that is until it defeated Zhuqiaomon. Suddenly… the world cared."

"What! It… it defeated Zhuqiaomon!?" I yelled.  
"Quite easily… quite."  
I continued walking… but I held a shocked expression the entire way. "It has evolved very far in its time… it spits out evil, dark Digimon to do its bidding. However, none is more feared then BlackWarGreymon."  
I stared at him for a moment with suspicion, and he noticed. "There is, of course, no relation."  
I nodded, and said, "Well… how powerful can he be? He's just a Mega."

"You'd like to think that, now wouldn't you." He said.  
"What do you mean?"  
"Because he's spawn of the evil, and darkness, he has new, unheard of attacks, which are rumored to be so devastating, they leave miles of digital villages and cities in ruins."  
"He is nearly invincible, as well, and still has all of his old abilities and powers."

He trailed off, and I was glad, yet unhappy. I wanted to know more… so that I could better understand my new enemy, yet I was glad he was done talking. However, he came to a halt, and I too stopped. I looked up, and for the first time, saw light! We had crossed the desert, and now, before me, was clear skies that gave way for sun. "This is where I leave you, friend."

I turned to him and gave a confused look, "What do you mean?"

"I can venture no further. I am a warrior on the frontier, battling to protect the digital world. And, what should become of any other of your friends, should they collapse from exhaustion in the desert?"

I realized, while it was irrational, he did have a point. "I guess you're right."  
He smiled, and looked at the ground. However, he quickly lifted his head to look at the place ahead. "The Darkness has yet to engulf ALL of the Digital World… but it's well on its way. More then half of it is over taken. If you want any hope of finding you're friends… go to the areas unoccupied by it. But, until we meet again, I must return."

"Return where?" I asked.

"To the Valley of the Shadows, of course." He said.

I wasn't sure if he was joking or not, but I dared not question him. I took a step off of the 'dark desert' and onto a rocky ground that had grass and light upon it. I turned to say good-bye and… he was gone… it was gone…  
The entire desert had disappeared before my very eyes. But… how? Where did he go? "But he…"

I heard a loud whistle in my ear, and a sound that was somewhat familiar came to me. I turned and saw a large purple data stream not too far off that was just now, coming down from the sky. But how? It slowly made its way down to the ground, seemingly coming from nowhere.

I was suddenly torn between what laid ahead, and wondering what happened to what had lied before? I decided to think on it no further, and rushed to see what was coming.

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A/N: We return to the Digital World… and it's covered in darkness. Pretty drastic change right? Anyway, I think its imperative that everyone look at the description of this story: Action and Adventure THEN Romance. Meaning, this isn't going to be anywhere near to what Autumn Leaves was like. The next chapter should clear this up. If you didn't figure it out, I was keeping you all in the dark kind of purposely. Those two times I updated my profile mentioning that I didn't have anything done was just a ruse. Sorry to those who don't trust me anymore, haha. I wanted you all to think I had nothing done, when, in reality, I had made some serious ground. Alright, now for some of the short notes: I didn't like this chapter when I wrote it. I was trying to hard to get all the information about the Darkness across to you, and that left no room for personal notes about what I wanted to write. Alright, other things- the title. "W-B, W-B, T-B" is in reference to the title of the last chapter I posted before breaking away. It's also sort of the real hello to everyone after I had been gone for so long. However, I couldn't put my own name in the title… it's not about me. So it's a welcoming back of Takato to the digital world. More stuff: Those vague descriptions I gave of the digimon crawling in the pits. I was trying to think of some cruel, unprecedented, unforgivable torture to add to the story. I was going for something that most people wouldn't think of when writing an adventure, and I kind of… well… I went to an extreme, to say the least. I can only say it was a stupid idea to use… but I'm not going to change it. As for my grades, they were FANTASTIC. Hahhaha. Better then I think I've ever done. Alright, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Okay, peace!

Love Always. Rukato Forever.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"  
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	7. Wake Me Up Inside

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A/N: Isn't it nice to have me back? How are these chapters rockin' out for ya'll? Hmm… yeah… that's what I thought. Yes, I did help co-author Intransigent. Love and be loved. Read… and review. Peace!  
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Wake Me Up Inside

_'Oh no! Oh no! Henwee is gonna be sooo mad! I… I… I have to go! I can't wet him stop me from seeing Wopmon!'_

I push forward, reach out, and touch the warm light. I feel sick now… I feel… funny. I'm… I'm falling! No! No! No! I don't want to fall anymore! Stop it! Stop it! Anything! Help! Anyone!

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I stare in disbelief and horror as a pair of the most unbelievable events that could have happened today… just happened. Suzy pushed Takato into the digital world… and then followed him! I'm caught between following them… or returning to the ground and telling everyone… do I go after my little sister… or do I go regroup with everyone else… what… what am I…

"Henry? Wh-What just happened?" says a distant voice.

I come out of my trance and look up to the light and see Jeri standing, waiting patiently for my response. I move to get out but something in the corner of my eye moves. What was that? I look down to the end of the small tunnel Guilmon left behind. At the end the portal flickers slightly… why? Is it… is it closing!? I find myself caught between two fates. What am I to do? If the portal closes… I'll never see Takato or Suzi again… if I don't go back up, and then the portal closes behind me, no one will ever know what happened. Then we'll all be caught in the digital world…

"Henry… are you alright?" says a soft voice near by.  
Again, I look up, and Jeri is waiting still for my response. I've decided on my fate, "Jeri… I'm going in."

I kneel back down, and prepare to trudge forward, but I'm stopped, "Don't try and play hero, Henry… the role may fit, but it's not played well by you." Jeri tells me.

I look up at her in uncertainty, for that's all I am right now- uncertain. "What… what do you mean?"  
"If Suzi's gone to the digital world, then you, me, Takato, and the rest can prepare for that, but for now, we have to regroup."  
I stare in anger at her. How can she say that Suzi's not that important!? She's downplaying my situation! "No! I have to go ahead-"  
"Because you feel called to be the 'big brother' and save Suzi from the evil digital world?" she interrupts me.  
I bite my tongue, and save whatever criticisms I had, because I know she's right. "But… how are you so sure we'll save her, even if I don't go ahead?"

"I'm not… but I'm sure TAKATO is!" She says, calling down the hole, unawares to where Takato really is.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I climb out of the hole, with help from Jeri. She gets back up and heads over to the go help an imaginary Takato. "He's not coming, Jeri."  
She cocks her head at an odd angle, and stares at me. "He's not here."

"What do you…" she trails off, and I walk away.

I walk out of the hideout and am greeted by eager eyes of everyone around me. I put my head down at the realization that they were expecting good news. There's no good news to report here… and their may never be any again if that portal closes. "We ugh… we have to hurry." I finally say.

Jeri comes striding out, looking dazed and confused. I guess I hit her with too hard of a truth that we would be leaderless for a while. She'll have to deal with it and move on. The last thing we need going into the digital world is a disheartened Jeri… especially after what happened last time. "What happened in there?"

I look up and realize its Yamaki who's asked. "They're ah… they're both gone."

I hear a few hushed breaths, maybe a gulp from someone near by. Other then those, it seems as if it surprises none. I feel a bit numb in both of my hands… yet this feeling is unexplained. _'How could I allow for this to happen? How could I?'_

It surprises even me that I've already gone past Jeri's advice and started to blame myself once again. How could I not? It is, when the smoke clears, all my fault. I should have never let her get inside the hideout in the first place… I should have never let her come… I should have been holding her, not dad… I…

"You'll all have to hurry then." Says Yamaki, as I look up at him. "There's no time to spare, you have to leave now. I was hoping to have a collected good-bye, well-organized, and appeasing… obviously that's no longer in the cards for us."

I look away, and then down to my shoes. He's right… but I still have a feeling of dread that something is bound to go wrong.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I pick my head up from its comfortable resting place against my body… we have to leave… now! "Come on guys, Takato's waiting… and so is Suzy." I say out loud, trying to retain my calm.

_'Takato's waiting'_ The words reverberate throughout my head for a few seconds… I can't let anything happen to him. I won't allow for it. "Yamaki, can we have that… um, PDA…" I ask, "Please." I add at the end.

He lifts his black coat up for a second and pulls it out from an inside pocket and tosses it at me. I step forward, crouch down, and catch it. I stand straight up and nod to him in appreciation. I look around to everyone, and they're all watching me. I feel the hairs on the back of my head stand up, and I think of how stupid it must have looked when I went to go catch the PDA. Why did I do that? Why'd I crouch down so low to the ground? Why…

No! Now is no time to be self-conscious. Takato could die… especially since he doesn't have the PDA. We have to get there now! I look around to everyone, and they're all still staring. "What? Are you all ready to go, or what?"  
"JERI!" I hear a scream from near the steps. Was that… was that…

I feel a rush of air and feel the PDA taken right from my hands, as well as my wrist yanked and I'm being led straight for the hideout. The warmth of the day air is gone in seconds as I'm under the entrance, and now realize Jeri's taking me straight to the portal. She lets go and starts to climb downward. As she reaches the bottom she looks back up at me, "Coming?"

I look back outside and see a few of the people still standing around, but Henry is following us. I see at the top of the stairs Jeri's father ascend the top, breathing heavily, and probably looking for her. But why?  
"Rika! Come on!" I hear her say to me. I look down at her… why is she…

I look back at her father…

Back down to Jeri and it dawns on me suddenly. I bend down as well and push her forward. "I should have known better." I say to her as I force her to crawl faster. I hear someone stumble down into the hole and know that Henry is following quickly. I hear another voice, yet don't understand the words… it's not Jeri's dad though. I turn and see it's Ryo, and behind him, slowly making their way are those two other-.

I stop in my tracks as I realize I've crawled right into Jeri. She's sitting on her knees in front of the purple light. "What are you waiting for?"

I pull myself so that I'm next to her, and sit on my knees as well. "It's time to go Jeri."

She looks at me, and I sense doubt in her eyes. She opens her mouth to say something… but whatever it is, I may never know. I grab her wrist with my left hand, and touch the portal with my right. Her voice is temporarily lost as we are sucked into the portal. I feel every fiber of my being shake, and quake in fear… and then I feel my knees give way from whatever I had been standing on… we're falling faster then I care to know. I open my mouth and scream… but no sound is heard. Is this because we're falling, or because we're going to the digital world? I look at Jeri and she too is trying hard to scream… yet I still hear-

The screams invade my ears quickly… they're both loud and annoying. I want badly to stop it, and thus, shut my mouth. Yet, I still hear my own voice screaming, and I realize my own voice is probably trying to catch up to me. I look away from Jeri and see a lot of lights. All kinds of lights too. They're everywhere… and they're blinding. I pull my eyes away and look down.

For all that's surrounding my vision from eye level and above me… it is shocking to see what lies below, waiting for us. It is just the opposite- it is complete and utter blackness! I see it is in the shape of a broken window, for around the edges of the black lies what seems to be a white border, and the white leads to more, and more white, however, we're falling straight for the black.

I try to move myself… yet I quickly realize my hand is still stuck to Jeri's. I try to shake it loose, yet I am very unsuccessful. She's not holding on, but we're falling at such a rate that we would have no better a chance of relinquishing each other's hand as we would stopping in mid-fall. So I try to move us both, but it's much too difficult. We've surpassed the white encompassing area and we're now well on our way to the ground… it's getting closer… closer… still… I can see it… I see something huge… something black… something dark… something…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Oh the pain… oh the anguish… wh-what happened? What am I doing here? I try to push myself up, and I feel enormous pain in both of my arms. I fight through it and push myself up so I can see what's around me. I sit up, and lay in… sand? Ugh, it's so nasty. I feel a nasty taste in my mouth… ugh, it's the sand! I spit, and feel a sudden brackish taste? But why? It's sand not-

Holy crap! Jeri… she's right there! I move along, hand and knee in the sand over to her and reach out… but I don't touch her. I'm perfectly fine… so why would she be any different? Her body looks so limb… so fragile… so gentle, just lying there. I look at my hand… suspended in the air… caught between my body and her shoulder. I reach out and touch her and feel her warm body.

Suddenly, she rolls over and looks at me. A bit of her hair is caught in her mouth, and her eyes are barely open, as if she had just woken up from a nap. "Rika? Is that you?"

I give a collective sigh of relief. She's perfectly fine. "Yeah, It's me. You alright?"  
"I feel pretty numb… all over… pretty numb… all over… pretty…" she trails off.  
I become tense, I look at her intently and she closes her eyes. "Jeri! Jeri!" I yell at her.  
She rolls back over. "It's so cold… and so dark."  
"Jeri! Keep talking to me… keep-"  
"She'll be fine." I hear someone say near by.

I look around and see Henry leaning against a rock formation not a few feet away. Ryo too is leaning against it, both looking at me. I stare at agitated, "What do you mean she'll be alright? How do you know?"

"Because the other two are acting the same." He says, waving his hand around, and, as I look, I see that Kazu and Kenta still lying down, and acting exactly the same. Rolling around in the sand where they lay, shielding there eyes as if the sun was too bright.

I look up and notice there is no sun to be bright. Jeri's right though, it's so dark! Everything around me is shockingly shady. There isn't any source of light anywhere, yet, there's enough light to see everyone as well as far as I would be able to see on any regular day. "Where… where are we?" I ask them both. "Is this… is this the digital world?"

"Where else would we end up? There's no go-between. No mediator that stands between the digital world and our world. This…" he, Henry, pauses for a second. "place… has to be the digital world."

I stand up, yet, now I understand why they're leaning on the rock. I feel my hips are so weak, and my knees tremble, as I can't dare stay standing another second! I push forward lay my body against the rock. "How… how long have you guys been conscious?"

"Long enough." Ryo says, finally speaking.  
"He's been about ten minutes… I've probably hit fifteen by now." Henry says.  
I look around and see what seems to be like a wall of sand directly across from me. I follow it up and it's probably ten or fifteen feet of sand that goes up on an incline. It's a hill. "What is that thing?" I ask them.

"We just assumed it's a hill, but we haven't done anything about it." Ryo says.  
"What else is wrong with this place?" I ask.  
"Just take a look to your right." Ryo responds again.

I do as he says and off in the distance is a cave with a huge entrance. The entrance, however, is perfectly formed in the flipped 'U' shape, and no rocks jut out that throw off the shape. "What the hell is that thing?"

"We were just getting ready to go check it out." Henry says.  
"Why!?" I yell at them.  
"Because I can't see Suzy anywhere else! She had to have landed near there, or, at least, gone inside it… I don't know why she would have, but she probably did."

I feel a little bit of the pain subside, and know they're gonna want me to come with them. "Fine! Let's just… go." I say, pushing off from the rock and walking ahead of them.

I felt odd, to say the least. Trying to make headway after, just a second ago, I felt like I wouldn't want to ever have to walk again. I slowly made my way for the cave… yet I felt my legs wobble as I walked along. This was going to be an impossibly long walk.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

We were slowly making our way for the eerie cave in the distance, and my blue hair blew in my face, as it was even surprising to me how fast I was moving along. What surprised me more was to see how fast Rika was walking… and how far she was walking ahead of us. I would have thought, after seeing how much Takato had softened her up, that she might not be as strong as she used to be… then again, it is Rika. She wasn't walking very gracefully, however. It showed just how much she was feeling from the fall, and I can't blame her. The pain seemed unending, and she got up much later then either Ryo or me.

"Well Rika, your hips don't lie." Ryo said next to me.

I let out an appreciative breath, to show I knew what he was insinuating, but it was really unnecessary for the situation we were in right now. However, Rika, as she tried to balance herself, held up one finger on her right hand over her head. Now **that** was unnecessary.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

'_Ugh… I feel so weak… why!?… Come on! Your… your stronger then this!'_

I tried to fight the feelings of pain in my legs, but they were so enormous it was hard to ignore them. I want so badly for the pain to end… for it to just be over… anything to stop this unending sting! We drew closer and closer to the cave, where we could probably sit down and just call for Suzi. I have to stop this now though! No more!

I made a break for it and ran as fast as I possibly could in my current state, which wasn't fast, but it was faster then the pathetic crawl I had been going. The cave was getting closer… 20 feet… 15…10… 5… almost there! I felt my legs give way and I feel forward, hitting the sand hard, but I was within the entrance! This stupid… perfect… eerie… entrance! I moved myself enough so that my body was inside, and I dug the back of my head into the sand. I could drop stone cold asleep right here and wouldn't mind a second! This was wonderful. Whatever source of light that was being supplied to this place was beating on me perfectly, but it didn't' extend much farther into the cave, but whatever. I felt a numbness come over me… this… was….

"Rika! Get up, what do you think you're gonna do? Take a nap?"  
I open my eyes and Henry's staring me down. Who does he think he is, trying to boss me around? No one tells me what to do. I quickly stand up and stare him down for a second, "And if I am?"

He opens his mouth to offer his response, but Ryo steps between us, "Do you guys hear that?"  
What? I turn to where he's looking and tune my ears into the sounds of the cave….  
Nothing? Wait…. There it is! "_Henry! Henry! Somebody help"  
_  
I turn to the other two, "Good call Ryo, come on, let's go get Suzy back!"  
I start walking forward, and the light leaves us as we go farther into the cave. "Suzy! Suzy! Where are you?" Henry yells._  
"Henry? Henry! Henry! Help me!"_ She calls from nowhere that we can see.

We all begin to try and run again, and I feel less pain this time, yet, I don't know why? Regardless, we run further, and faster and I call out, "Suzy! Suzy! Come towards our voices! Come towards them!"

I stop yelling and turn to Henry as we continue to run further, and further into the cave. "Why would she even go that far into the cave?" I ask him. He shrugs his shoulders, and gives me an unsatisfying look, yet he refuses to break stride. We continue to run full force, yet I feel a small sting of doubt come into my thought process as we continue to run into this… darkness.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"So… where do you think they went?" I said, looking at Kenta and Kazu, as we sat, just now getting over are fall to the digital world.  
"I don't think it's a question of where they went… but of where they landed." Kenta offered.  
"Hmm… I don't know… I was holding onto Rika the entire way, I don't think, even if she let go right before we landed, that she would have landed much further away from me. Plus, I thought she was by my side when I was waking up."  
"Well, at least I'm making an attempt! You're just shooting down my ideas!"

"Kenta, you only said one thing so far." I said, trying hard to hold a giggle back.  
"Well… yeah… ugh!" he says, grunting, and giving up.

Now I can't refuse it, I start laughing at his weak attempts to make conversation out of a bad situation, but something catches my eye and I'm cut short. I see something crawling from a hill not too far away. Not the hill near by, that ridiculous like 18 footer, though. It's a normal hill, almost like a beach hill? It's crawling faster and faster towards us… wait a minutes, it's not crawling… oh my God! "Guy's look! It's Suzy!"

The two boys look to what I'm seeing and jump up. They start running towards her, and I do the same after getting up. We all run faster then ever, and it surprises even me that we have no side effects from the fall! With her running towards us at the same time, it only takes a few seconds before we meet her halfway. "Hey, Little Lady, what were you doing all the way over there?" Kazu asks immediately.

"I was explowing! This place is wuge!"  
"Well… now we're only missing the others… oh yeah, and Takato." Kenta says.  
"I wonder where the others are?" I say out loud.  
"Where who aww?" Suzy asks.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Suzy! Honey, come to us! We can't find you if you just keep calling us!" I yell into the nothing.  
_"I can't! I'm stuck!"  
_"I'm coming Suzy! I'm coming!" Henry screams, still into the nothing. "How are you stuck?"  
_"My foots stuck!"  
_"How!" Henry screams, insanely. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear Suzy's voice was getting further away with every step we take inward. That's it! I'm going-  
"Henry! Henry… we have to…"  
"We have to what, Rika?"  
"We have to go back… NOW!" I yell.  
"We're not going anywhere until-"  
_"Henry!"  
_"Do you hear her, Rika? She needs our help!"  
"Then… I think we need some help too. There's no more light… anywhere."  
"What, what are you talking about?"  
"Turn around." I say, aware of how thick the tension has become.  
"Suzy! How is your foot stuck?" Ryo screams into the darkness.  
_"It's… it's…"_  
"Why isn't there any more light?" Henry says out loud.  
I lift my hands to in front of my eyes and I can't see them. It's so empty… so creepy… so… dark.  
"Suzy… how is your-" Ryo beings, but is cut off.  
_"In the SAND!"_ Says a voice… but it's not Suzy anymore… its something horrible! Something terrible! Something evil!

I feel my feet sink and I can't move them. I'm stuck in the sand! I try to push forward, anywhere, with all my strength and I go nowhere.  
"Henry! I don't think it's Suzy anymore!" I scream.  
"Ri-" I hear Ryo try to scream. "Hen-"  
"Ryo? Ryo!? Ryo, say something!" I scream, but I still can't see my own hand! I'm so blinded! So vulnerable! Someone help!  
"Rika! Something's… something's got me!" Henry says… but he's calm… too calm for the situation we're in.  
"Where? Your feet?" I scream, insanity all about my voice.  
"Not just there… Rika… it's… wrapping itself around my body…" Henry says.  
"What? What the hell is happ-"

I feel a cool, icy cold feeling slither around my right leg… like a snake. Its wraps itself around my right leg… now my left… it's making its way around my stomach slowly.

Suddenly, my eyes are opened to something. A flash of violet comes into my vision and I see my father… but no! It… it can't be him! He's… he's hitting mom! No! Dad left on his own! He… he never hit mom! Why… why am I seeing this?

Another flash of violet and I see a much younger me sitting in a corner of my room… covering my ears. Digimon cards are spewed on the floor around me, but they're all ripped up, and someone is screaming at me. _'No! Not that! Why… why am I seeing this?' _

A third flash and I see Takato hunched over on a sidewalk… its pouring rain, and he's crying… the rain is eating him alive. Another flash, and the same scene reappears… no! It's different… it still pouring rain but lighting flashes in the background. He's hunched over a there a few people surrounding him… they have… weapons!? They're… no! God, no! They're going to… they're… no, they wouldn'-… they did… They're beating him… mercilessly! Why!? WHY!?

Another flash, and this time the light is blinding. I blink and the sight before me is Takato in a hospital bed… another flash… I'm in my room, Erica's there… I'm about to cry… flash… Renamon is flying out of my hands and back to the digital world… flash… My father… no… don't… he brings his fist down… on me… flash… I'm alone on a bench… flash… I'm running away from home… flash… I see… a dead Takato lying face down on the ground in front of me. Another flash, but I am surrounded by the nothingness again.

I'm… I'm dead? No… I feel the pressure of being squeezed by the darkness. It's trying to crush me in half. Finally, however, a light… a dark light… appears and I can see around me. Henry and Ryo are on angles away from me, and they too are being wrapped by the darkness. Henry's mouth is covered with a horrific black cord of something. I realize whatever that 'black cord' is, it's surrounding his entire body, as well as Ryo's. They're both unconscious… or at least not opening their eyes. "Am I dead yet?" I hear someone whisper.

I look up and it's Ryo. He refuses to open his eyes, yet I hear a rasping voice, _"Not yet, my child."_

The voice is ghastly! It's worse then anything I've ever heard! It's wordless… I can't make out what else it's trying to say, but Ryo keeps nodding his head, and then the cord slips around his mouth and he is being suffocated! No! Why? Why is this happening!?! I hear more wordless noise… god damn it! It's everywhere! Where have I heard this before…. I know I have… it's…it's…

My alarm clock...

Someone help me… someone… save me. "TAKATO! HELP! SOMEONE! ANYONE!" I scream to the darkness, but then I hear it.  
Takato's voice surrounds me. "Just say it Rika… say you want to die! It'll all be over in a second! Just say the words and you'll be fine! Just… give… up!"  
He… he's ri-right. I… I have to g-give up. "Say it Rika! Say _you want to die_!"  
That voice! "No! Never! You're not Takato! Get AWAY FROM ME!" I scream, but a cord is slipped over my mouth.

I scream into the cord, but it's suffocating me. The black cords already around my body squeeze in around me and begin to suffocate me. _'I… can't… give… up.'_

_'This can't be how it ends… this can't be… be… the end.'_

I begin to close my eyes… this is… it…  
I feel my heart beat accelerate to a rate I never knew was humanly possible. Memories flash in my head so suddenly it seems like a blur… but I catch some of the last few… Takato hugging me on my bed… Diving into a secret pond… kissing the boy of my dreams… sitting on my bed picking out clothes… another flash in my vision… but this time it's white!

I open my eyes and its like a spear is piercing my body. But… it's warm. Yet… so draining. The spear turns to a light, perturbing from out of the black cords. I open my mouth and the cords around my mouth whither into nothing. A bright light is coming from… from… from me! I feel so warm, yet I've never felt so tired in all of my life. I see Henry and Ryo… the cords surrounding them begin to wilt away… but… they're not opening they're eyes. I feel a sudden plunge from my stomach… a fall multiple times worse then the fall from the real world I went through earlier. I feel all of the wonderful memories that had just been fresh in my mind leave me faster then they had come. I'm left with only the horrible memories that had invaded me earlier… the light grows brighter as my good memories leave me. And then… they're gone… the light explodes and …… _darkness_.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Look! There they are!" I scream.

I run ahead of everyone else and get to the three unconscious bodies before any of the others. My brown hair falls down around my vision like a drape. I stare down into Henry's lifeless eyes. Is he… all right? I grab his wrist, and… he has a pulse! But… he seems so… dead.

I crawl over to Ryo, his eyes look the same, empty of anything, but same as usual. I feel his wrist, and he too has a pulse.  
I crawl over to the final body, and it's Rika. She looks terrible! Her hair is a much darker shade of red, but I don't know why? Her eye's are closed, I feel her wrist and… no pulse! What! I grab it harder and the pulse comes, however weak it may be… its there. I open her eyes and I'm frightened at the sight. Her violet eyes are surrounded by a circle of darkness… A ring of black!

The sight is so grotesque I let go of the lids and they slide shut, blocking it from view. Wh-what happened to her? "Anything the matter with them?"

I look up and Kazu is standing over Henry and Ryo, looking down at them. _'Should I tell him about Rika? Is it really any of his business? Is it **that** important?'_

"What about her? Is she alright?" Kazu says to me.  
I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I grow anxious and self-conscious. "She's fine too." I say, choosing that Rika would want her privacy to be protected. Besides, I'm sure it was nothing. It was probably just my own eyes, playing tricks on me… yeah. Yeah! That was it!

I touch her eyelids, to bring them back up, and yet I cannot open them. The fear of seeing those rings again stops me from doing anything else. What if they are still there? What if something's-

A cold, icy hand touches my wrist and pulls it away from Rika's eyelids. She places my hand in the sand and opens her eye's…

And there still there

I stare at them for a few seconds, confounded at there presence. Why does she have those? She sits up, but goes no further. Simultaneously, Henry and Ryo sit up as well, however, they go into a standing position. They're examining themselves as if they were just noticing everything about their bodies for the first times. But why, I don't know.

"You two alright?" I ask them.

Henry looks up at me, surprised to see me standing where I am. He looks cautiously at Ryo, then back at me and nods his head. It's very unconvincing, but do I really want to pry? I mean… is this really my place?

Henry motions for Ryo to come closer, and whispers something into his ear. Ryo nods, and Henry turns back to me. "Where, ah… where did that cave go?"

"What cave?" Kazu asks almost instinctively, but I noticed something about Henry's voice was different.  
Henry looks at Ryo, and Ryo gives him a bewildered look. Henry looks to the sand and shakes his head disbelievingly. "Wasn't there… a… cave?" he asks.

"Henry… there was never any cave anywhere near here. Why are you asking?" I say to him.  
He keeps his eyes to the ground, and refuses to look up at me. "Never mind."  
"What do you mean, never mind?"  
"Just… forget about it. We must have… dreamt it." He says flatly, voice empty of any emotion.  
"But, Henry, what are you-"  
"I think it's time to go."

I spin around so fast my hair whips me in the face. Rika is standing and staring at something I can't see, but a light is perturbing from around the edges of her outline. I walk over to her and see a purple light; similar to the one we took to get here. "You mean…"

"This isn't the digital world." Rika says, emotionless, but leaving no room to argue. I look at her eyes and the light is reflecting from them, but I can still see the circles encasing her eyes. Why haven't they faded yet?

"What makes you so sure?" Kenta says, trying to argue.  
She's quiet for a long time but finally says, "Do you see Goggle Head anywhere?"  
Kenta gives an upset face, takes a quick glance all around him, as if half-expecting Takato to pop up from the ground. "No."  
"This isn't the digital world." She says, more defiantly this time.

She puts her hands up towards the light, but keeps a small distance away from touching it this time. The light flickers a bit under her hands, and she smiles a horrible mischievous smile as she watches it tremble from her touch. I can't stand this anymore! "Rika are you-"  
"You're Jeri Katou, right?" she says, turning to me.

The circles move counter-clockwise as she turns to me, and I feel pressured to not lie under their careful watch. "R-Rika… you know that."

She smiles that smile again, and goes back to watching the light and says, "Of course."  
I feel a chill go down my spine as I can't help but feel like she just froze me to the spot with those words and that smile.  
Suzy trots up and stands next to Henry. She pulls on his hand and he looks down at her with a drowsy sort of look on his face. I watch as I become worried about Suzy. "Henwee… are you mad at me?" she asks to him.  
I turn away, as I know Henry's generic response, and big-brother attitude come into play. He's really such a great-

"Yes."

I feel my eyes bulge as I turn back and stare at him in shock. "Time to go."  
I turn and Rika reaches out and touches the purple light, but, rather then like last time, when we all had to touch it, the area surrounding us is engulfed in the light and we're absorbed in it. We're not falling anywhere this time, but instead, we're being lowered to a different place by this light as it keeps us safe inside of it. I look around me and watch as we get farther and farther away from that place. What was it, though? It was so… dark.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The wind blows steadily, as the empty place is left simply at that… empty. It is black, and no good comes from this place. Hatred and lies are heard in the howls of the wind as it swirls around in circles going everywhere… going nowhere. Why it blows, is unknown. A steady cry for something more can be heard… but it is heeded by no one. No one and nothing wants to become a part of this.

Above and beyond the inclined hill lies water. The water is neither warm, not welcoming. It symbolizes all that is broken and all that is missing. What horrors lie within these terrible boundaries? The water is more thought… it is a puddle… a pond… a lake… a sea… an **OCEAN**…

of darkness.

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A/N: Pretty good, right? What'd you think? There's a little bit to be explained. First: The title is a reference to the song by Evanescence- because it seems to suit the chapter better then any other song, ya know? Second: I'm not going into ANY detail behind what happened in that cave. If you're lost, re-read it, over, and over, and over again until you get it. Obviously I'm not stupid enough to think that you won't make the connections between the last chapter and this one, so you can probably figure out some of the little stuff, but you have no idea what's coming. None. There are a few things I will say about the cave, however. In reference to some of the memories Rika saw, I will take no part in owning up to what is written. In the memories I have her father being an abusive-type, who hits her and her mother. I have no faith in that, whatsoever. By this, I mean that I don't believe this idea of what Rika's father was like. However, for the sake of the story, that will be the type of father he was. I apologize to those of you who do not appreciate it. I would like to accredit Vriell the Black Knight with the best version of the 'Rika-Dad relationship' to date. Don't know what I'm talking about? Then you missed/are missing out, and you should go read, "We're going to Hawaii?" You'll find what I'm talking about along the way. Great story by the way. I made a allusion to Takato being beat up by guy's with weapons… yeah, that's in reference to one of the worst/stupidest things I did to Autumn Leaves. When I had Takato mugged? That was sooo dumb. Anyway, about what Rika's eyes are like. I had that idea for a long time, but I could never remember where I got the idea from. When I realized what it was I was kind of like "oooh yeah!" Anyway, if you want to get a REAL visual of what it is, watch X2. When the girl-wolverine gets injected with the serum stuff the first time, and you see those rings appear around her eyes- that's what it is. It was inspiration! Also, if you all wouldn't mind, after writing you wonderful reviews of course, proceeding to the story "Intransigent" by Claypool, and reading it, I would appreciate that. The reason being is that I helped/ am helping co-write it. Trust me, I'm not doing a lot, but I'm doing my part. Don't worry about it being rated M-- its strictly for the language... and maybe a little violence. Moving along, I made a lot more allusions to Autumn Leaves here, and that may happen some more for its slowly becoming more and more important. Well… the darker side of it at least (grins). Promise… is about to get a WHOLE lot Darker. Fear the Darkness… embrace the Darkness…

Love Always. Rukato Forever.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"  
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	8. Organized Chaos

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A/N: Hello, and welcome to the 8th installment of Promise. Things are just getting started, and this story is gonna be something incredible. Hope you enjoy the next chapter. Love and be loved. Read… and review. Peace!  
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Organized Chaos

I ran full out, as fast as my worn legs would carry me. I realized just what this purple portal was as I got closer. It looked too oddly familiar of the one that had taken us out of the digital world when we left. The portal that had pulled the D-Ark straight out of the different levels of this world… or… what it used to be. The rocky terrain under feet didn't seem to take it's toll on me anymore, and it seemed whatever pain I had before, was now gone. I had already been running for maybe a minute… possibly two. But, the portal seemed to be getting farther and farther away with every step. It seemed to have finally chosen a place to stop and just lower itself down to, but it was at least another mile away!

To better describe my surrounding, it was just as barren, but also more welcoming. It seemed to be a desert, but much different then the other one from earlier… 'the valley of the shadows.' Finally there were plants in my surroundings, thankfully. There were cacti as well as bushes from place to place, but the ground was not sand, like in the 'valley,' but rocky hard terrain that seemed too out of place… but it didn't surprise me.

All of this occupied my mind in an effort to distract me as I ran towards the portal. I had found that when you run, you usually look for anything to occupy your mind, and distract you from what you have to do, and where you have to go. I had realized this during the time last Autumn, during the span of time when I was able to walk. When I ran to Rika's house for our talks… back when before I was… well… running wasn't really an option after… well… Rika's going to be at the portal! Yeah!

Again, my mind had wandered, yet I found I had covered more ground as my mind had wandered around. I was less aware to my surroundings, but at least I was making headway. I could see the bottom of the portal now, still at least a half a mile away, but at least I could see it now. At the bottom lay a large bubble, which was violet and I could see a few figures, probably the others, standing around, inside of the bubble. But… why did they get the easy way out? I had to fall and they get the elevator?

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I came to a slow walk as I approach at least what I thought would be where the portal was going to stop. I stood alone, and crossed my arms as I waited patiently for it's slow descend to the end. I could now see underneath the portal, but couldn't see anyone inside of it.

Another thirty-some seconds past by and finally the portal was level with me. I saw everyone inside, and the reactions were mixed. The first thing I noticed was that Rika's head was towards the ground, as if something had gone wrong. The next was that Suzy was with them, meaning she didn't go into the portal after me, as I had feared. The third was the happy faces on Kazu and Kenta. Jeri was standing next to Rika, and she had a smile on… but she also looked a little distraught. Ryo and Henry were looking the wrong way, on the other side of the others, staring out the other side of the bubble.

The bubble touched down on the ground and after another second… exploded! It popped, just as a bubble gum bubble would. I closed my eyes out of reaction, for I feared some actual gum might fly into my face. However, whatever the bubble was made of, it didn't go anywhere. However, before I could open my eyes, I felt two mass objects come upon me and my legs gave way and I fell backwards.

Kazu and Kenta were hugging me as if I had just been resurrected from the dead! Screams of 'your alive' and 'we thought you were dead' were heard, but I wasn't sure who was doing the screaming. After I got them off of me, I almost half-instinctively expected Rika be the next to be hugging me, but I was wrong. Jeri and Rika were still standing in the same spot, however, now Jeri was whispering something to Rika… trying to get her to do something. Rika just nodded her head, but still stared at the ground. Henry and Ryo remained in the same spot as well, still staring in the wrong direction.

I had almost become accustomed to taking the initiative when with Rika, so I immediately started walking over to her. However, when I got within five feet she lifted her head and I took a step backwards. Her hair, which I had not bothered to stare at earlier, was shockingly a darker shade of red then ever I had seen. It was almost withered out… dry… dead? However, that was not all that was wrong. She bore no sign of recognition of me, and her expression of one that is emotionless. To top it off, her eyes scared me just as well. They gleamed in the light and the reflection perplexed me. It's possible what I was seeing was just a trick of the light… but were there… were there dark rings around her eyes?

I moved closer, to see if the light had, indeed, played with my mind. However, as I drew closer, nothing changed. Her hair looked as if she had just washed it… but not dried it. Rika's hair was naturally straight to begin with, and I never once saw her use a brush for it… but… now… it wasn't? I could see now that she did, indeed, have an expression on her face… a frown. Her eyes added more to the eeriness of her. They held dark rings that surrounded her violet pupils… and they seemed to add a certain terrifying factor about her. I took another step backwards… for how… how could this possibly be the Rika I know? How could this-

"Hello, Takato." She said.

I felt my tensions alleviated at the sound of my name. Her voice was unchanged, which was relieving, for I had somewhat expected it to be as different as her appearance. "Hey, Rika!" I said, and moved closer to her.

I closed the gap between us and brought her into a hug… however, after about two second of squeezing her she did not return my pressure. Why though? I let go, took one step backwards and looked at her, "What's the matter?"

"It was unnecessary." She responds, unmoved.  
I stare at her a little confounded. _'Unnecessary?'_ "Unnecessary? Unnecessary? What do you mean, 'unnecessary?' " I ask her, stunned.  
She gives me a calculating look, and something in her eyes flashes at me. I feel a little unnerved, but I do not back down. She looks away and says, "You seem weaker then I remembered you."  
What the f- "What I mean is… you seem more tired from your trip then we were from ours."

"Oh… yeah… I guess. I mean, you guys came down in an elevator, I got dropped down."  
"No." Jeri speaks, finally.  
I look at her confused. "What do you mean?"  
"We ugh… we didn't take that bubble thing all the way here." She says.  
"Well… then…" I start.

"We ended up in a desert… or beach, or something." She says, but stuttered, looking at Rika.  
"Oh… I ended up in a desert too!" I say, ignoring her uncertainty.  
"Well… umm… we're not a hundred percent sure we were even really **in** the digital world." She says, bewildering me more.  
"What do you-"  
"And there she is." Says a voice near by.

I look around and Ryo is staring off into a different direction now. He's staring out to my left… into the distance. I look in the same general direction and my eyes take a second to adjust… but I don't see anything. Another second goes by and I start to drag my eyes back to where Ryo's standing when I see her!

Standing no more then 50 feet away is Renamon! She seems seized to the spot as we make eye contact, and I refuse to break it, for fear that she may vanish… or transport away like she used to.

I smile a wide smile at her, and take off towards her. I get halfway there and she seems to come into her own state of mind… she pulls her left arm, which had been hanging limply on her side, up to her right shoulder, and begins to turn away. As she comes to a complete turn away from me she vanishes… just as before…

I slow down my run until I'm just forcing my feet to go in front of me. She… she left…  
I turn on spot and stare back at the group with a distraught face… but a second later Renamon reappears behind Rika and throws her arms around her in a hug!

I can see Rika's eyes, and suddenly, they light up and, I swear… for a moment… the rings… are… gone?

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"NO! LET GO OF ME!" I scream aimlessly into the shadows.

Suddenly, I can see white arms come around my body and I feel a moment of empowerment! The arms… the fur… the claws! All so familiar! Renamon!

The daylight… it's so close! I can see it! I can…

What? No! It's… it's getting farther away! Whatever advantage I just had over the Darkness is gone… and I feel myself being swallowed back whole by its omnipresent strength. It shudders at the touch of my partner digimon, but it shuts my body down and I am swallowed whole by its overwhelming, devastating… feelings… of… _Darkness_.

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I can see Rika's eyes, and suddenly, they light up and, I swear… for a moment… the rings… are… gone?

However, it only lasts a moment and they seem to faze back in! Renamon presses her head against the back of Rika's. Rika finally smiles, and turns around, and returns Renamon's hug.

All of time seems to stop as we all observe this temporary moment of pure joy. This simple moment of emotional expression, and this everlasting memory, for which, we will not soon forget.

I begin to run back up to where the two are engaged, and as I get closer, they pull apart and stare at one another. I reach them before either could speak, but Renamon wastes no time in speaking, "I told you, Rika. I knew… I knew we would meet again someday." Rika returns the smile, closes her eyes, and nods her head.

This is beginning… of something great!

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After a short time of everyone welcoming Renamon back… or rather, re-meeting her again, we finally got down to talking. "So Renamon, a lot sure has changed since we last saw you." I said to her as we all sat in a circle, some lying down, some sitting up, but most of them were lying down.

"More so then you would think." Renamon replied.  
I frowned a bit, as she quickly moved the conversation away from what I had been hoping to discuss. "I know…" I said.  
She seemed a little stunned at this news. "How do you know?"

I stared down at the ground and said, "I…" the thought suddenly came to me. I didn't know anything about the BlackAugumon that had helped me out. How should I know if I should protect him or not? Was he good… or bad? I choose to keep his name out of my speech and changed the course of my sentence on spot to the only other things I knew about what I had seen, "ugh… I've been to the valley of the shadows." I offered up.

It was make or break now. Either he had been joking, or he was serious. Much worse, what if he had lied? What if what I had been in was not the valley itself, but just a smaller level of such a place, and he had told me it was the valley to make himself sound more important when I eventually found out what the valley was?

My words hung in the air for a moment as I suddenly felt very hot, and I noticed the sudden stares I received from the others. I had not told them anything about where I had been before they showed up. The most important person right now, Renamon, just gave me a calculating glare. She was passing judgment on what I had told her, when not even I was sure what I had said was completely true! She spoke suddenly, "Impossible."

I felt a little shattered. I had been lied to. I knew now that I would be pressed for information, and that I would have to tell her and the others about the BlackAugumon, and all that he warned me about. "Wh-What do you mean?" I asked feverishly.

"It's impossible for you to have been there… no one can go there… and still return." She said, again, shattering my hopes of keeping my unknown friend a secret.

"What?" I asked, trying to defend my case. I felt pride in my case, trying to stand my ground, and not give way.

"No digimon, let alone a human, could go to the valley of the shadows and return from it freely. The Darkness has made that option an impossibility. Only it's minion digimon are capable of leaving the area. The only way you would have been able to leave was if you were guided out by one of them."

I felt as if the ground I had so preciously been trying to stand, suddenly crumbled from beneath me and I fallen down an endless pit of guilt, as my lie had been unraveled. "Made, Goggles." I heard Rika chime in.

Still… I felt that they didn't need to know it was BlackAugumon. "Oh! I did have a digimon who took me out of there… a Darkizamon." I said, remembering the one that had frightened me like none before.  
"Why would he lead you out of there!?" Renamon retaliated.  
"Wait!" Kazu finally interrupted us. "What is this… thing?"

Renamon and I simply stared at him for a moment. I felt that we shared the pride that came with a teacher looking down at an uneducated pupil. "The 'thing' is… the Darkness." I said after a moment.

Immediately there were sporadic different reactions. Kazu's eyes narrowed. Kenta, who had been lying down, sat up. Jeri went from staring out into space to staring at Renamon and me. Rika, Ryo, and Henry, who all had also been lying down, lifted their heads to look at us. "Our… new enemy." I said.

Renamon bit her lip, as if in preparation to talk about something she didn't want to talk about. I felt a little disheartened to have to talk about this thing, which I was sure we could defeat, as if it were some unearthly god! It couldn't possibly be as bad as BlackAugumon explained. BlackAugumon?

I quickly ventured into my short time with him. I felt betrayed to know he had been a creation of the Darkness, but it all seemed to make sense. His poetic flow… his unending knowledge about it… the reverence with which he carried the subject about his master… and his easy memory of what the Wargreymon had said on his deathbed.

Yet, more made sense as well. The stare he gave me in his home… his reaction to Darkizamon wanting to attack me… how easily we got out of the valley. What more was I forgetting? What about- "Takato? Takato! Talk to us bud, what's up with this thing?" Kazu yelled at me.

I quickly came out of my reprieve and I stared at Kazu for a second. I realized quoting BlackAugumon now would be a mistake… for he had treated the Darkness with such a respect, because he was biased. He felt that way, because he was created by it, and he served under it. However, before I could open my mouth to begin explaining it, Renamon began, "The Darkness is everything we, Digimon, have to fear. Its main objective is to destroy everything and everyone in its path. No one walks away with even a chance to live, when they stand in the way of the Darkness."

I felt a little shocked as the words echoed in my head, far too similar to the one's I had heard earlier. Was there… some sort of _definition_ of this thing? I quickly realized that I could not act surprised that Renamon had used the same exact words… it would give away too much. "I was told it was born from the ashes of the D-Reaper… and that it defeated Zhuqiaomon."

The reactions from everyone were the same I had held when I heard the news. Jeri, Kazu, and Kenta's jaw's dropped. Rika, Ryo, and Henry sat bolt upright, and stared at me. I looked at Renamon, and she had closed her eyes. She seemed to be upset that I had told them… she probably had not planned on revealing that to the others until a later time… I felt the worse for having told them.

"Is it… is it true?" Kenta said, hysterical.

Renamon looked at him, but didn't respond. She nodded her head after a second, and the result was as perceived. Kazu looked like someone had just told him his mother had been murdered, Jeri looked more distraught now then she ever did when possessed under the D-Reaper, and Kenta screamed out, "Were all gonna die!"

"SHUT UP!" Rika screamed at him.

Renamon smiled at Rika's smooth control over the situation, but I was a little surprised. I quickly remembered that Renamon had no idea me and Rika were dating yet! I made a mental note to tell her later, and went back to reality. "Seriously, Kenta. It's not that bad."

I smiled, and turned to Rika to show her that I agreed with her. She returned my smile with narrowed eye, and a… nah. It wasn't… I mean… she hasn't acted that way for so long! Why now? I laughed to myself, knowing I had simply just imagined Rika giving me an f-u attitude.

"That's easy for you to say! Once we find Guilmon you can just bio-merge and save your own sorry ass!" Kenta screamed back.  
What!? I suddenly grew angrier with him. He was accusing me of bad leadership… I thought I had completely dispelled that idea when we fought the D-Reaper? "What's that suppose to mean?"

Rika laughed aloud at us. She raised her head as she let out an almost triumphant holler of glee. She snapped her head back down and gave me a sly, cold look. Why? I felt my spine give a short shake at the stare… the first time my spine had done anything to the negative annotation since we had started dating. "R-Rika…" I started.

"_Subject fears stoppage of guidance abilities… and a certain bitter gaze_." She said, but I didn't quite understand?  
What… what did she just say? She said it so quickly… What was she… implying?  
"Rika… are you alright?" Renamon asked after a second or two.  
She refused to break her stare at me. She seemed determined to break me with it… to make me snap. "Perfect." She said, still staring me in the eyes.

I could have broken the stare at any moment… but… something about those… rings… was… _mesmerizing_.

I saw a very violent action come from those eyes… but I wasn't sure what it was… something about the rings changed… but I was too preoccupied staring at them to investigate to as to what it was.

Suddenly, I saw a flash of violet and I saw myself staring out at the pond I had taken Rika to… but… no… I was… alone. I was… a child. I was… crying! No! Why… why am I seeing this memory!?

I shook my head in refusal to believe what I was seeing… and… somehow… the image faded from view. I realized I was back in my seat on the ground… but I was shaking my head still. Had… had I ever moved anywhere? I looked up at Rika, and she seemed upset I had broken the eye contact. She saw me turn my head up to her, and she slowly looked away. I felt bad for having broken the eye contact… but why? And why had I seen that horrible image of my childhood?

"Let's hear more about this Darkness." She said, in a tired, and bored drawled voice.  
"If you wish…" Renamon said. "You wouldn't believe its power even if you witnessed it in all its glory."  
"Since I've never been to the Valley, and I know nothing about it, beside the fact that no one gets out alive. Except… now… you Takato." She said, turning to me. "I couldn't tell you the first thing about the place… or anything about THE Darkness itself."

I looked at her confused for a moment. "What do you mean by that?"  
"Well… no one actually knows what the Darkness is."  
"I'm still not understanding." I replied, and to this, Rika laughed again.  
"You wouldn't, Goggles." She said, in a mocking tone. What was up with her?  
"Hey, what's up with you? You got some kind of problem with me?" I asked, as if daring her to say yes.  
She gave me a devilish glare… not like the one before… but didn't reply. "Could you explain it then, Rika?" I said, daring her again to say yes.

"Certainly." She replied, pushing some of her blood red hair out of her face.  
"Really?" Renamon and I both asked in surprise, but Rika stood up to explain.  
"What Renamon means is that the Darkness is simply an unknown force of power… a willed beast. It's an unknowable figment, that's distorting the actual image of whatever the Darkness truly is." she said, in an… almost… _poetic_ type voice.

"But… I still don't get it." Jeri said.

She looked down on her and said, "Think of it as the Trojan Horse. It sits in the middle of a fort… in this case 'the valley of the shadows,'… until it decides the time is right, and whoever is inside comes out and kills everything in its path. Only… the valley isn't enemy territory, but really a shelter the horse created on its own. And whatever is inside hasn't come out because it hasn't been forced out yet. The Horse is just covering over what it truly contains."

"Good analogy Rika." Renamon chimes in.

Rika smiles at her, and gives her an affectionate look. However, Jeri raises her hand as if she were a student at school. Rika looks at her questioningly, "But… I still don't get it." She says.

Rika gives a slightly agitated look, and I take over. "Think of it as sort of like… a mask! In fact, a whole costume! The costumes a horrible, mean, and dark monster, ya get it?" I ask her.  
She seems enlightened by this and smiles. "Oh! And… so… it won't take off its mask, ergh, costume, because it doesn't have to?"  
"Yes!" I yell, glad she figured it out. I look to Rika for reassurance that she's as happy as me.  
But I'm shocked at the sight I receive. Instead, she's got narrowed eyes again, and she seems pissed off that I interrupted her? Why?! "Now that you got that down, what else do we know?" she says.

Renamon speaks, saying, "As I was saying before, I don't know anything about the valley, or it, itself. The only thing I could tell you are the digimon that are its minions, the efforts we're giving to fight it, and the locations of some of the other partners."

Everyone jumps at this last fact, as we all half expect her to begin telling us. "BUT, first, I would like to hear about the valley, Takato." She says, turning to me.

"Oh… umm… what about it?" I ask.  
"Anything, and everything. Any kind of information about it is invaluable. We've never had any idea of what's going on inside… and never known anything of its inhabitants." She says.

"Oh… okay. Well… it's almost always dark there. I thought surely I had been there an entire day at least, and there was never a 'morning time.' Ya know? Well, anyway, after I started walking around, I saw these huge craters in the ground."

"Craters?" She asks.  
"Yeah. It's what was inside them that was scary." I say.  
"What was inside them?" Rika asks from the side.  
"It was so horrific… I even threw up when I saw it. The craters, there were a lot of them, and everyone was filled to the brim with digimon that were dying on the spot, or, at least… sort of dying." I said, depressed at the thought of it. I remembered that poor Gabumon and I couldn't help feel sicker.

"You mean to tell me… they don't delete the digimon and take their data? They just… let them die?" Renamon asked, appalled.  
"Seems to be…" I said after thinking on it.  
"You don't seem to have minded it." Ryo says to me.

I look up at him in anger, as he has no idea what he's talking about. "Henry, shut him up, please." I say jokingly.

Henry lifts his head, and he seems to be depressed, but he just shakes his head. "I… can't… help you." He says, but he speaks almost as if he's out of breath.

What? What's wrong with him? "Takato, could you tell me-" Renamon starts, but she's cut off when Rika makes a violent action, just out of the corner of my eye.

She made a ballerina-esc move, and picked up her bag from the ground. She looks at me in disgust, and walks away. What the hell is wrong with her? She's been acting so weird today! I look at Renamon for a second, but she's still staring at Rika as she walks away. I give up, and start running after her, catching up after about four or five seconds. She seems to pick up her pace once I get closer, but it's probably just my mind playing tricks with my head, because she's still moving, and I'm slowing down.

I reach up to her and touch her on the shoulder; only to get her attention, get her to turn around… but the reaction is absurd. She turns around at my slightest touch and she swings her book bag for my head! I let my knees give way purposely, and I fall backwards onto the ground, now looking up at her. She stares down at me with an angry glare… and those rings around her pupils begin to work their magic again. I'm begging to doubt the innocence of them… as well as her new attitude, and hair.

I push myself up and look at her with bared teeth. "Okay, let's go. Tell me right now… what's wrong with you!?" I say angrily.

"YOU!" She hisses at me, and I suddenly feel everything make sense.

She's mad at me! Of course! I almost want to laugh at myself because it's so obvious. But… what could she possibly be mad at me for? "Wh-Why? What did I do?" I ask.

She bares her own teeth, and drops her book bag from her right hand. She smiles the most devilish smile she can muster at me. She brings her hands up, and throws them around my neck. She leans her waist into me first, then her belly. She pushes her chest up against me, and I begin to bend away from her! She's being way too aggressive to be…

She brings our lips together, and her tongue searches inside of my mouth for my own. However, I've withdrawn it… out of… fear?!??

Another second goes by… and suddenly… I feel my world around me collapse… everything is spinning so fast. We're encircled by a horrible darkness, and the Rika kissing me is replaced with a different Rika… yet she's so familiar. She has her regular hair, not the dark blood red style, and it's straight, and it's out, not in a ponytail like she used to wear it. She has normal eyes, but she seems so distant!

The darkness is replaced by swirling, spinning, foggy memories the two of us shared. However, as they spin around us faster they become clearer… until… I'm seeing the memories from earlier today! We're in her room, and she's holding onto my hand, and I'm begging for mercy! She let's go, and the memory fast forwards to when we're waiting for the others, and talking to Yamaki… everything from when we arrived till when I chased after Suzy happens in a span of about seven or eight seconds… it's moving so fast, but I can still see most of it.

Suddenly, everything grows brighter… Rika… is brighter… the memories disappear to darkness again, as if… in an effort to shut out the light… but still… Rika glows on in the light… she's growing brighter… and brighter… and brighter… then, suddenly, when she is finally covered over in light, her light explodes from within her and everything is lighted. I close my eyes for I'm blinded… but when I open them… I'm back in the desert.

She pulls away, licks her lips, and stares at me lustfully. It seems to be Rika, but the dark blood red hair, the not-straightness, and the rings are all back. She steps back for a second and brings her right hand up, and slaps me across the face.

My head falls to the left and I stare at the ground. After another second of staring at this I bring my head back up and stare at her. I realize Ryo and Henry are nearby now, but everyone is still standing about twenty feet away. But… how did they get here?

Rika stares at me with complete and utter hatred. She's looking at me with a stare colder then anything I've ever seen! She turns on spot and starts to walk away without another word. What!? Why is she leaving?! "Rika!" I call after her.

"Back off, Goggle head." She replies, not turning or stopping.  
"Rika-" I start, but she passes Henry and Ryo who are stationary and Ryo slides to stand in front of me.  
"You heard her, back off goggles." He says, mockingly.  
"Ryo!" I scream at him, but he is unmoved.  
"_Subject refuses to be vulgar_."  
"Shut up!" I scream in his face, but he is still unmoved.  
"Oh? What are you going to do about it?" he says, still mocking me!  
"Ryo, I already don't like you, now MOVE! You rotten M-…" I stop myself.

"Hmm? What's that? Say it Takato, say what-"

"You Rotten Mother Fucker!" I scream, and I bring my right fist to connect with his face. He slouches over for a second as he looks down to his left.

He spits out something, and looks up at me… smiling! He looks at me hungrily, and I see, just over his shoulder, Rika's stopped walking away, about fifty feet away. "Pun intended?" he says.

I pull my eyes away from looking over to Rika to looking at him. He smiles again, but… I'm lost. "What?" I ask him.

He brings his right fist up gets me squarely across the cheek. I waste no time is spitting out the extra saliva, and I look back up at him. He brings his right hand up to hit me again, but I lift my hand grab his arm before he can punch me. I twist it quickly and kick him in the stomach and he falls over. I take two steps towards him as he lies on the ground, but as I get too close he kicks my right kneecap with his left leg and I fall over, face forward into the ground. I look up at him, and he's trying to stand up. I get on my knees quickly and jump on him. We begin to fight like complete idiots… as if fighting isn't stupid enough already! I hear people screaming for us to stop, but the calls are too distant, and my hatred, rather, my rage… too deep.

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I see my two friends fighting before my very eyes… and I can't allow for it another moment! I push through the bindings, and shatter the control the darkness has on me. I break the chains that bound me to the nothingness, and I accept the light. I feel its warmth… and I'm fully back into my skin.

I take a deep breath… and I feel the wind beat against my face for the first time since I walked into that cave! I open my eyes and I see the two before me! I waste no time in taking action, for I have no idea how much longer I'll have. I grab hold of Takato, on top of Ryo, and yank him up. I feel all the force in his body try to break free of me, but I hold on tight. I somehow keep him elevated off the ground as I walk him back the two or three steps I get… before it happens.

I feel the deep breath I had just taken, is robbed of me. I feel the withdrawal begin, and my exodus has begun. I feel myself falling backwards into the darkness again, and my spirits are crushed within its unending hatred for all that is happy. I can see through my eyes… but I am no longer… in… control.

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Henry lifts me high into the air for another second, but he's stopped walking backwards. I try to look at him from my elevated view, but before I can even look to his blue hair I feel my position yanked out from underneath me! I hit the rocky ground hard, but it's nothing compared to some of the other feelings I'm having right now. I look up at Henry, as I can now see him since he threw me onto the ground.

I look up with contempt, but I don't dare make advancement on him. He's way too strong for me. Rather, I look over to Rika and I can now see what she was doing when she stopped. She's… she's playing with the PDA! She's…

I see everything around me grow dark, and the winds pick up speed tremendously… I look to the sky and I see a purple portal flying at all of us faster then I could even calculate! I get on my hands and knees, then into a standing position… I am temporarily caught between making a break for it or… my hesitation didn't help, but my fate was already sealed. Rika turns towards the towering purple portal and it runs over her… then Ryo… Henry.. Me! I feel my whole body pulled from the ground and it's like I'm in a tornado! I am spun around temporarily before I feel the particles of my body disintegrate...

I feel everything come back together a second later and my body is flung into a rather large pile of sand. I lift my head to examine my surroundings immediately… see the others fall to the ground near by… and then my heart stops. We're… we're…

We're back in the Valley of the Shadows… no… "we're" not back… I'm back…

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A/N: Oh… what are they going to do now? It makes you wonder as to what's going on in my head. Well, as much as I hated writing that 6th chapter, it's going to become one of the more important ones… to say the least. This chapter was really nice because of all the dialogue that went on. I'd have to say that, finally, my detail-oriented style is coming in handy! It seems, to me, that every minor detail is going to play a huge role in the story later on. You have no idea what I've got planned for the next chapter… its going to be incredible. Although… that's the next chapter, I could always make it suck by writing it bad (but how likely is that?). Notes about this chapter: Ah yes, I finally dropped a real one. A real curse word in my story. At first, I was always so cautious about saying any because of my writing style, and level I would put my story on, but the situation definitely warranted it. I'm sorry to anyone who didn't appreciate it, but I kind of felt that it added a certain flavor to the story. A certain, seriousness about what we're doing here. It spices up my story and makes it that much more enjoyable, knowing that I was striving to convey to you that Takato, right now, is in such a stressful situation, being torn apart trying to be a leader and a friend, that he actually forces himself to curse at Ryo a loud, and then do something he never felt was smart- fighting. I finished the next chapter, and I have to say… wow. It's going to be something else. Every time I finish the second chapter ahead, then I'll post the next chapter. The next one though… WOW.Okay, peace!

Love Always. Rukato Forever.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"  
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	9. There’s No Beauty in the Breakdown

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A/N: No. Just read it. Love and be loved. Read… and review. Peace!

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(There's No) Beauty in the Breakdown 

We're back in the Valley of the Shadows… no… "we're" not back… I'm back…

I stare around at the utter darkness of the place and it's haunting. When I was here earlier… I had no idea… I was so innocent. It was almost as if I had returned naked! Stripped of all the creature comforts that came with not knowing the danger I was truly in last time I was here. I want to shrink away into nothing, so that the world would never see me again.

I look for comfort in the others, and find just the opposite in the only one that matters. Rika is staring at me… with… _fire_ in her eyes. It's the first time I've seen that fire since… since… well… since at least before we started dating. Her stare is almost immediately burned into my head as the rings around her pupils adds a certain frightening effect that I can't seem to shake. I stand up and walk away, headed towards the others. I want to be sure everyone's here, and everyone's safe. Not to say that if everyone wasn't here that would be bad. If someone got left behind it might not be as bad as it is right now.

I get within a few feet of the others and can see easily that they're all there. I stop in my tracks and waste another second double counting them all, and the numbers come out the same- everyone present and accounted for. I wonder why-

"Look what you did!" Says a fury of blood-red hair.

I jump in reaction and my muscles tighten in pure fear. I look at Rika with reproach as she stands, cross-armed in front of me, waiting for an answer that won't come.

I let my emotions get the better of me, as I return her spite. However, I do it in a joking manner, saying, "What do you mean? I played with the controller, what'd you expect would happen?" I say, pushing past her- not literally.  
She refuses to laugh at me throwing the blame on myself for something she did, but turns around as I walk past her and says, "I **expected** you to be smarter then that."

I turn on spot and look at her as if she just told me we weren't in a desert! "Excuse me?"

"Excuse you." She says giving me a stare that makes me step back and drop my offensive attitude. Something more in her stare broke me. I-I… I don't know what it was… but she just shattered me.

"Hell hath no fury, right, Rika?" I say nervously, and stumble backwards, falling into the sand.

I hit the ground very lightly, but as I turn to look back up at Rika she has advanced on me, and she's staring down at me with… those… _eyes_. They entrapped me in their stare, and I felt as if I was going nowhere. Again, I felt glued to my seat and then… I saw the _violent_ action come from those _violet_ eyes and then… it ended. Ryo had placed a hand on Rika's shoulder and our eye contact had ended right there. "C'mon Rika, he's not worth it." She looks up at him admiringly, and they walk away together… his hand still on her shoulder.

What the hell is going on here!? Rika's acting so weird right now! What am I suppose to do here? I can't even bare staring her in the eyes, what makes me think I can stand up to her? It's almost as if she's completely forgotten about…

"Where are we?" Shouts Jeri, as she begins to make her way for us.

Suzy, Kazu and Kenta just stand dumbfounded to the places where they had just stood up. Rika, Ryo, and Henry look around… lost and confused. Jeri too stops walking and begins to look around. Renamon is…. Renamon! Where is she? I scan the entire area around for several seconds, looking frantically for the only person who can protect us while we're here! I saw her when I went to go count everyone… I mean… I thought I did…

I begin looking around, turning my head in effort to find her, allowing for the others to see my pandemonium. Kenta… Kazu… Suzy… Jeri… Ryo…Henry… Rika… "Where's Renamon!" I finally yell, giving up looking for her on my own.

Everyone jumps at the realization that she's nowhere in sight! Kenta and Kazu begin to turn their heads in effort as well, and Jeri is now stunned to her own spot. I feel more barren as I realize… if she's not here… then… that means…

"There she is!" Yells Jeri.

I turn my head and she's pointing to a cavern wall about twenty yards away. She lying up against the wall, obviously having put herself there… at least… I hope that's not how she landed. She looks up at us and gives a nod so we know she's all right. I give a great sigh of relief, knowing were not completely stranded.

I turn to look for Jeri, but she, as well as Suzy, Kazu and Kenta are already walking towards me now, and, as I turn my head, I see Rika, Ryo, and Henry are doing the same. As they close in, I realize the seven have formed a circle around me… waiting for… me? I stand quite in the middle of the group wondering what to say to them… wondering what explanation I could give them… right now, though, they're all in a foreign place, so I think it'd be best to tell them where they are. "Guys… we're in the Valley of the Shadows."

They uproar in response giving gasps, wide eyes, and open mouths. After a few seconds of commotion in which they all gave their opinions, I raised a hand, and this, somehow, stopped them all from speaking. Even Ryo bit his tongue for me to talk, "Obviously… we can't stay here. Someone would find us… we're just sitting ducks here." I say to them.

There are a few moans, as some would rather speak there minds then listen to just one person. I look around pleadingly, hoping against hope that they won't disagree with me, and see that I'm right. It looks, however, as if they'll actually listen to me, as a few begin to quiet down. After a few more moments, talking has halted all together, and I put a smile, as finally, they've come to the conclusion that I'm right! "Alright let's-"

_BURGH! _

Everyone turns on spot to where a few moments ago, Renamon _had_ been. Now, however, there is simply a large pile of black burning fire!  
_"Renamon…"_ Rika whispers, and then, falls to the ground! She's collapsed.

I take the few steps towards her, but as I bend down to be at her side, Ryo sticks out his hand and pulls my shoulder away. "Don't worry about her! She'll be fine! We have to check on Renamon!" He says, but I feel something deceitful in him, as I stare him in the eyes.

I look down to Rika, and then back to Ryo. Unlike Rika, he doesn't have rings around his eyes, but still… his eyes look dead. I look to the flame and realize… "Your right! C'mon!" I say, running ahead of him.

I hear his footsteps behind me quickly, but we get only ten yards away from the group and the flames explode and a somewhat electric field surrounds Renamon as she seems to be powering up, or rather, preparing to fight. The field subsides and she zooms past Ryo and I, going the other way.

She did it in a matter of less then a second, but still, her agility shocks me! I remembered her speed was unmatched by any other of our partner digimon, but still! To not witness it for a year, and then see it happen at a quicker speed then normal- for I'm positive she had been training in that year- it is quite the sight. I turn to see where she's gone, and I see she now stands fixated to a spot between the others and something I can't see.

Ryo and I rush back to the spot we had just left. He stops next to Henry, who had bent down to check on Rika. I, however, rush to be next to Renamon's side. Almost every hair on her body is standing up on end, and she is growling as if she were Guilmon. Her own pupils are dilated, and her eyelids are close together… I know that expression… she's sensing… she's sensing… a digimon! She's sensing…

"Why, hello again… Takato." Says a voice so far unfamiliar, yet it seems so familiar.  
I look to the source of the voice, and, out of the blackness of a shadow being cast down by another cavern wall is… BlackAugumon!  
He stands tall, looking at me with a smug expression on, smiling a toothy grin that shows some of his sharp teeth. I stare transfixed to the spot, unsure of how to receive him. I now know, from earlier, that he had been lying to me… that he had been against me, but for some reason he had led me out of the Valley regardless. "Again?"

I turn on spot to see Kazu looking at me questioningly. I let my mouth hang open as I realize I've been caught in my lie. I try to speak, but my throat has become so dry by the recent events… "I… I…"

"You have lied to your friends, Takato. You told them nothing of how you met me earlier, and of how I let you loose out to the digital world. Nothing of how I saved you from exhaustion… nothing… of me." BlackAugumon interrupts me.

I stare at him with intention to kill… but I couldn't do a thing to him even if I wanted to. However, I find something different about him, "Where's that Scottish accent of yours? From earlier?" I ask him, catching him in his own trick.

He narrows his eyes at me. He opens his mouth to respond, but before I know what's happening, I see Renamon flinging herself in front of me… and then, she is engulfed in black flame! I watch as her outline is illuminated as the blast strikes her head on! However, in a moment her body is flung from the desert ground and the impact of the attack sends her flying into me, and we both fly back a few yards before hitting the desert ground hard.

I feel my breath leave me as Renamon's body weight wouldn't normally be a problem… but right now… it's crushing every fiber of my already tired and weak body. I try to push her body up from mine, but she gets up on her own. She slumps over for a second, but corrects her posture almost immediately. I get on my knees first, and then I stand up and correct my own posture… not allowing for weakness to be presented.

BlackAugumon just smiles wickedly at us, with a look in his eyes that tells me he's enjoying himself. I look towards the others, and I see Jeri's stunned expression… Kazu's angry determination to do something… the fear in Kenta's eyes… Suzy, cowering to her brother… and Henry and Ryo, while looking up at BlackAugumon, still crouched over Rika… but I can't see if she's even conscious still!  
I turn back to BlackAugumon, and the anger sets in! He lied to me! He proved me a liar to my friends because of his own lying! He's taken two cheap shots at Renamon already! He even tried to kill me! He's not getting away alive! No… way… in… hell.

"Renamon… I know you don't take orders from anyone but Rika, but…"  
"Kill him?" Renamon offers, turning her head enough so that her left eye can look at me.  
I nod, and look at BlackAugumon again. "I don't care who you are… you're dead now."

Renamon vanishes in an instant in her classical way, and I stay standing where I was… if BlackAugumon tries to attack me again, no doubt he'll be successful, but he'll only leave himself to be overtaken by Renamon. However, he smiles, this time showing all of his teeth, and just chuckles. He moves his left foot so that it's facing to his left. He quickly turns on spot, throwing his fist in the air and smashes a just-at-the-moment reappearing Renamon!

How… how'd he know where she was going to be?! Renamon begins to fall towards the ground, and I see BlackAugumon begin to open his mouth to attack! I want to help her so badly… but I feel rooted to my spot, refusing to move even a step forward!

His blast goes off, and… an explosion results! Sand is flung everywhere, and I shield my face with my arm, so as to not have sand hit me. However, as the dust clears… no Renamon is seen. BlackAugumon stares in fear for a moment as he can't see where Renamon's gone! However, the next thing I see is Renamon's foot going into the back of BlackAugumon's head! A direct hit!

BlackAugumon falls to the ground, and Renamon does an aerial summersault, before turning on her prey, in the shape of a ball, and opening her arms wide… the finishing blow! Her legs spread out as well in a stiff manner and light begins to from in front of her, and she speaks, "Diamond Storm…" The light takes crystal shape, turns on its target and flies straight for BlackAugumon!  
They hit spot on, and the dust from her original blow hasn't even cleared yet. I stare with glee as the wind in the Valley begins to pick up and blow the covering cloud away. BlackAugumon appears lying, face first into the sand, eagle spread. The crystals from Renamon's attack stick out of his body in every bone, and every fiber! But…  
Something's not right? Why isn't his data being streamed out yet? Why isn't he being deleted? Suddenly, he moves onto his hands and knees… into a dog-like stance… and he shakes the crystals from his body like a dog would with water! The crystals delete as they hit the air, and he stands back up, looking half agitated… half amused!

He smiles his toothy grin again at Renamon, who has come back to the ground. Suddenly, however, the wind that had just blown the clouding covering away picks up again! It rushes around us all, coming from every direction, but it's all headed for the same place. The wind begins to form a funnel-like covering around BlackAugumon. The wind carries the sand all around us with it, and so we only see a black tornado surrounding a pair of bright, devilish yellow eyes with red pupils.

Suddenly, his body becomes illuminated with wicked yellow light almost the same to his eyes. The light grows upward, towards the sky, as well as all around! Suddenly, the wind begins to die down… the sand is slowly falling away… BlackAugumon is no longer their… he's been replaced… no… he's digivoloved… to BlackWargreymon.

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The new digimon stands before us, staring down at us, no longer capable of showing a facial expression. His eyes are narrowed as he stares at us… but he's not staring at the group… I can tell… he's staring at me. I stare back at him, refusing to blink… refusing to believe he's really there… how could this be… how…

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_"It has evolved very far in its time… it spits out evil, dark Digimon to do its bidding. However, none is more feared then BlackWarGreymon." _

_I stared at him for a moment with suspicion, and he noticed. "There is, of course, no relation." _

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I feel numb and bewitched. How could I be so blind? Why could I not see through the lies? Why could I not just believe that he had to have been lying to me? Why did I trust him so easily?! It's much too obvious now… now… when it's too late.

Everyone stared in fear at the monster standing before us, however, I know none of them were thinking what I was thinking… none of them had the same guilt that I had. I had knowledge on the most powerful enemy we could possibly face… and because I had been afraid of how I would be received… because I had not told them… now… we would all die. "BlackWargreymon! I will not allow for you to harm these children!" Renamon yelled up at him.

He broke his contact with me, and looked down to the small rookie digimon standing in front of him. He open his mouth and let out a grunt, knowing he would have to deal with such a weak enemy before having his way with us. Renamon stood tall before him, however. Disregarding, completely, any belief that she did not, in any way, stand a chance against him. In her eyes… she would defeat him and save us all… but… it wouldn't be that easy… in truth… it wouldn't be.

Renamon threw her arms out in preparation, and the hairs all over her body stood up once again. She screamed in a beast-like way, and flew at him with everything she had. She reached her fist out to punch him and…

He simply moved his claw and swatted her away like a fly! She flew into the ground and bounced away three times, covering at least fifteen yards with each bounce! I stared in horror as our only hope lied on the ground almost fifty yards away! However, after another second, I saw her stand up, hunched over at first, but she straightened herself up… only to bend over again. She breathed in heavily, and then, in her quick speed, came flying back for more. She flew again with her fist clenched, and, as she drew closer, BlackWargreymon lifted his claw to swat at her again.

However, as she got within arm reach, she teleported away as BlackWargreymon brought his fist down. She reappeared the next second on his other side and hit him squarely on the cheek. Renamon teleported again, this time, to standing in front of me again. She bent her knees, as she desperately needed a break… but if she halted for even a second she would surely die! I now saw that her landed blow had barely moved BlackWargreymon's head an inch! He moved his head back to looking at her and finally spoke, "Ouch… that one hurt."

His voice was just as the one that had been shown on the show, and this frightened me. His false pain angered me, but I knew I was worthless. I couldn't do anything to stop his onslaught of Renamon… that is, whenever he would start it. Renamon growled viscously at him, but, in another second, BlackWargreymon had lifted his left arm, the one closer, towards her. He lifted it so that his actual claw was exposed, however, as he held it there a ball of dark energy began to form! Renamon dropped her offensive attitude, and stood limply, staring at the ball, almost preparing to be defeated.

The ball collected until it was about the size of my head, and then… he waited a moment. He glared at Renamon, hoping his toy would move so as to make him chase her, and keep playing his game. "_Dark War Blast…_" He whispered, and the shot took flight.  
I stared at Renamon, realizing this would be the last time I would ever…

She was gone! She teleported away… but the blast continued on! It flew straight at me, and before I could even think to think… I was struck, and I was flung back…

I felt my body carried away as I felt pain I never knew could exist! The shot stopped after taking me an eternity away… however, the energy stayed against my body for another second before fading away and I plopped to the ground. I felt the same kind of pain I had come to know from the fall from the real world to the digital world! I felt every fiber burn with intense pain, and my brain was trying to blast its way out of my skull! It pulsed furiously against my skeletal holding, and I wondered why I was not being deleted…  
I put my hands into the sand, and lifted my body up and breathed in the desert air with force. I looked up and, by some hand of God, I could still see the others! I looked to where my path had led and I stared in disbelief. BlackWargreymon had sent me flying through a cavern wall, which, as I stared at the hole it created, it disintegrated into data.

I looked up in disbelief that I had been capable of surviving such a blast! The others could now see me standing up, and I wondered what they were now thinking? They had just watched me blow through a rock wall by an attack by a mega level digimon, but when the dust cleared, they only saw me standing tall, where the blast had stopped. I pushed myself forward, but almost immediately I felt the pain in my every fiber return, and I felt as if I would die on the spot.

I forced myself to continue to walk the entire distance until I was standing where I had been before being hit. Everyone, even BlackWargreymon, stared with unbelieving eyes the entire walk back. Renamon was floating in mid-air as she looked at me. Her eyes begged for forgiveness… most likely, she had not realized I had been behind her, and had simply been toying with BlackWargreymon herself.

Under the watch of everyone, I finally felt as if I could collapse. I let my knees give way as I hit the sand. I stared at BlackWargreymon in both frustration and pain. I felt defeat was imminent now, and we were only waiting for his final strike… still… what had that attack been… never had a BlackWargreymon, let alone a Wargreymon been known to have such an attack… where… had… that… come… from?

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_  
I nodded, and said, "Well… how powerful can he be? He's just a Mega."  
__"You'd like to think that, now wouldn't you." He said.  
__"What do you mean?"  
__"Because he's spawn of the evil, and darkness, he has new, unheard of attacks, which are rumored to be so devastating, they leave miles of digital villages and cities in ruins." _

_"He is nearly invincible, as well, and still has all of his old abilities and powers." _

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I blinked, and felt shame come over me. This digimon… was no ordinary digimon… he was… _more_.  
"Diamond Storm!" I heard Renamon call out, and I looked just in time to see BlackWargreymon lift his arm to take the full shot of all the crystals. He held his arm out at length for a moment and examined it, then recoiled it, and quickly stretched his arm out at length again and the crystals took flight again, this time headed for Renamon.

They hit her right on, and she collapsed to the ground. It was over. Her data became pixilated, and I knew we no longer stood a chance. I looked over to Rika… who was now finally awake, staring at her defeated digimon. I stared at Rika for a few moments later, knowing, very well, this may be the last I ever did see her. Memories from the last half hour flashed by and suddenly… it all became so clear.

I put my hands to the sand and forced myself to stand. I rushed towards Rika, but as I ran I heard BlackWargreymon yell out, "There's nothing to save her now, and you know it."

He was expecting me to try and help Renamon? The fool! I rushed to Rika's side and she looked up at me with intense anger. I returned her stare with as cold of one I could muster at the moment, only because I was in no situation to begin arguing with her. I picked up her backpack from off the ground and turned away, but she spoke, "Takato! How could you! You-"

"Not NOW, Rika!" I said with fury. She looked at me with her evil and cold stare she had been re-utilizing again, but I didn't care. I flipped open her bag and… right on top… there it was… I looked up at BlackWargreymon with the same devilish look he had been giving all of us. I reached into the bag and pulled out the PDA.

I pulled out the antenna, and looked right up at BlackWargreymon. He stared at me with confusion. He wasn't sure what I could possibly do with such a small object, but I knew this battle was finished… for now at least. The Valley was calm and still as the Darkness was no doubt watching it's most reliable soldier fight it's fight… it had watched so much victory… but now…

Now it would watch so much defeat.

I turned the PDA on, and the screen immediately showed a scattered signal, but, I looked up and the wind picked up. Suddenly, while there had been none before, there were the purple portals that carried you away in the Valley of the Shadows. They flew furiously, and viciously. They flew everywhere, and three surrounded us, going in a circle around us. They encircled us over an over again until they were just blurred, towering, purple walls.  
I looked up at BlackWargreymon and smiled a smug smile, emulating him from before he digivolved. He cocked his head and an odd angle and stared at me questioningly, and the words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, "Sorry to break it to you like this… but our war game's over."

As I spoke one of purple portals came zooming towards our group, just as it did before. I looked at the others with the same smile Rika had worn when we were transported here. I felt my stomach lifted and we were uplifted off the ground, leaving BlackWargreymon hollering at us in anger and frustration as he could only watch us fly away.

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We came slamming into the ground as fast as possible. Finally, however, I felt something different from sand or hard ground! We had hit a grassy plain!

I lay in the ground, looking up at the day sky, because this morning air was a **hell** of a lot better then the Valley of the Shadows. I placed my hands behind my head in joy that we were finally out of there! It also helps that I was full of self-congratulation for saving all of our lives back there. I felt that, if I closed my eyes, I could make pretend that I was back home… in the park… just lying in the grass… enjoying life…

I sat up though, looking around and saw that everyone, including Renamon, was here. I stood up, but I never made it up. I felt hot air breathing on my neck, and the weight of three times my own body weight lying on top of me, and my vision was blinded by something blood red!

I put my hands around the body and hugged it like it was my entire world. I felt like this was the greatest reunion possible. I rolled over, pulled out of the hug, sat up, and looked at the best possible thing to happen right now… although it probably would have been much better five minutes ago… I stared right at…

"Takatomon!" yelled the red dinosaur.

"Guilmon!" I yelled back, so happy to see my best friend ever lying next to me.

He laughed out loud, and everyone watched as we embraced again… it had been so long since I had held him in my arms… trying to hold him back from leaving forever. But nothing last forever… nothing… not even good-byes! This was meant to be. "Guilmon!" everyone exclaimed as they all came closer.

That is to say, everyone except Rika, Ryo, and Henry. They all stood at a distance and watched the rest of us. After about five minutes of greeting Guilmon and the reunion party of a life time… considering we were lucky to still have a 'life time.'  
The 'morning' changed to night in another ten minutes, and we had no problem with it. Guilmon found firewood, and lit the fire himself, and we all crowded around it, putting all of our bags and such around it and leaving them there. Meanwhile, Renamon was still trying to recover from the assault by BlackWargreymon. She asked my forgiveness, as I knew she would, for moving out of the way of the attack, but it didn't matter to me. Somehow I was able to walk away from the attack with only a complete feeling of defeat and some pain… I had lived… and that was all that mattered.

Since we got back, Rika was no longer looking at me with anger but rather with a calculating look. She seemed to be thinking about something, and thinking deeply about it. I didn't want to bother her by asking, so I just kept my distance for now. I had, actually been thinking about maybe why she was mad, and I remembered dad gave me a lesson about why Rika may, somewhere down the lane, start having random mood changes. The conversation itself was utter chaos and complete awkwardness… but at least I was knowledgeable about it now.

Maybe that's what was wrong? I wouldn't know, but that doesn't matter. After another hour of sitting around the fire though, Renamon had regained complete health and we were all sitting at the shore of a lake that was located not twenty yards away from where we had crashed landed. Guilmon had been here, getting some water apparently, when we crashed in, quite literally, right next to him. Suzy had gone to sleep not too long ago, and Kenta had fallen asleep not soon after her.

Kazu was leaving the water to go to bed as well, while Renamon and Guilmon sat away from the rest of us… talking about something they didn't want to talk about in front of us. I was positive that Renamon was telling him all that had happened while we had been in the Valley. How she had failed to protect us… how she was unable to digivolve because Rika had collapsed… how I had been hit… and how we had escaped. I hoped she wasn't throwing too much blame on herself, but I would never know.

Jeri was sitting next to Henry as the two of them looked out into the lake… talking about something that I couldn't hear. I was lying in the grass, again, with my hands behind my head, enjoying the sweet taste of freedom. It felt incredible to know that death had been so close… but now… it was so far away.

I noticed out of the corner of my eye as Ryo stood up and started walking back to the fire. I saw Rika stand up, walk over, and stand over top of me. I looked up at her with a relaxed smile, but she wore that same calculating stare. She reached her hand out for me to grab, and I obliged, and let myself be pulled up by her. "Come with me." She said.

She started walking ahead of me, and, before I started following I looked over at Ryo who was picking up his own bag and going through it. I turned back to Rika and chased after her. I ran for a second or two and then was next to her as we walked along the edge of the lake… or was it a pond? I couldn't decide, now, as I walked around it, it certainly seemed to be much smaller then I initially thought.  
I was so caught up in looking out over the water I was almost shocked when I realized I was sharing such a peaceful moment with the most beautiful girl that I knew! Rika looked down at her shoes as she walked though, but before I could ask what was wrong she spoke, "I thought…I thought I knew you, Takato."

"What…" I say looking at her with reproach. What is she talking about?  
"I… (she clears her throat) I thought I knew you, Takato. You always made me happy, and you made me see what was worth living for… and you made me trust you…"

"Rika? What are you talking about? Rika… you told me earlier that you weren't just happy with me… in fact… you told me-"

"I know what I told you, Takato. Now, I'm telling you this. Actually, I'm asking you this: did you, or did you not lie to me about BlackAugumon?"

I feel a little upset that she would get so worked up about such a little white lie. "Rika… well, yes, I did lie to you, but-"  
She breathes in loudly… but… it sounded like a sob? By now, we've started around the bend, headed back for the fire. "Then… then, you admit it. You lied to me?"  
Now I'm the one getting worked up. "Yes, I did lie to you, but Rika… what's so wrong? My lie may have hurt us, but everyone's fine! I'm fine, they're fine (I said this pointing towards everyone near the fire), and you're fine! What's wrong?"

"No, Takato, I'm not '_fine_.' Do you remember what you promised me earlier today?" she asks me.  
'_Earlier today?_' What earlier today? Back when we were in the Real world? That was all today? Well, let me see… back when we were in the real world I…

"You promised to never lie to me again." She says, her voice now solid and full of energy, as she stops, about three fourths of the way around the lake.

The memory comes flooding back immediately, and I stop walking to look her in the… _eyes_. "But… oh come on! Rika… you can't be serious! I mean, seriously are you-"  
"No, Takato. Your also forgetting the other promise you made to me… after the summer started." She says, her eyes, however possible, have become harder, and colder.

"Umm… but…" my mouth dries up, as that memory hits me almost instantaneously. I had promised… to….

"So help you God, that I may show mercy on your soul." Rika says, finishing my thoughts, almost as if she knew what I was thinking!

I opened my mouth to respond, but I couldn't. I don't know what I could say to her to make her change her mind. Although, suddenly, it came to me! She was keeping me in check! She was making my leash even shorter. Any second now, I would look down in disgrace, and she would burst out laughing, telling me to never do it again, and everything would be fine!

I smiled at her with this in mind and looked down in disgrace. "Can you ever forgive me?" I ask in completely dejected tone.  
"Look up at me, Takato." I look up at her, and she has tears flowing!  
"Rika? Rika, are you-"  
"I'm fine!" She says, swatting my hand away as I go to put it on her shoulder.

"Rika…" I say, with no idea of how to respond.

"Takato… you made a promise… you made two promises… and you shattered them both, and put not only both of our lives, but the lives of everyone else- at risk. You lied to me (she sobs loudly, and the tears come flowing freely)… and you broke your promise…" she breaks down finally… falling apart in front of me.

I stare at her in disbelief… I wanted to put my hand on her shoulder… I wanted to hug her, and tell her everything would be fine… to kiss away her pain… but she was upset with me… I couldn't touch her right now.

She wiped away a few tears, and looked up at me and began to cry into her hands, cupped over her face. I turn away and look out towards the fire. I seek comfort from the fire, but gain nothing. Jeri and Henry have left their place, and Ryo is no where in site. I look towards the ground, this time, in true shame. "T-T-Takato… this is…"  
I look at her in complete shame, unsure of what she will say. She rubs her face clear of any tears and looks up at me through watery eyes and says, "Unforgivable."

_BOOM_! I feel as if the weight of the world has been dropped on my shoulders as I stare at her… refusing to believe what I am hearing, and what I am seeing. "R-Ri-"

"NO!" She says, pushing me away from trying to hug her. "DON'T TOUCH ME!"  
I put my arms down and take back the step I had approached with. I stare at her with the corner of my mouth twitching, as I feel everything in my world has been turned upside down. "I don-don't want to ever sp-p-p-peak to you again!" she says, stuttering through sobs and tears.

I feel my eyes sting, as water forms around my ducts, and I feel the tears stream down my own cheeks. "You… you can't mean that…" I say.

She looks at me with a growl and tears, and says, "Good-bye, Takato."

She turns and starts walking back to the group. I watch her walk back to the group and I see Ryo and Henry waiting for her. "RIKA! Where will you go!?" I scream, but she ignores me.

How… how is this happening!? Why is this happening!?!? How could such a little white lie go so wrong?!?!? How can she mean all of that!?? It was a stupid PROMISE I made!!!! How can she hold that with such importance!?! WHY would she hold it with such importance?!? I can't believe she's walking away from… from… from… from us! From me! I… I told her I loved her… and now… it's like she doesn't even care!!! Does this… could this… dear God, no! This can't mean… but it does. Does this mean… does she not love me?? Could I have… could I have destroyed everything… EVERYTHING… simply by lying?!! Then… then it's true. I… did it. She's right. She's justified in leaving me… I… I broke this. I did this to me… to us. If I hadn't lied… if I had just…

I watch as she falls to pieces in Ryo's arms as she makes it back to the two of them. Henry pats her on the shoulder, and Ryo looks at me with the most contemptible look possible. I feel pain I had never felt before… I feel a hatred I had never known before… before… before… no. I had known this pain from before… where though? Where had I felt this hatred for everything about myself… where had I felt this… this… this self-hatred before? When had I last endured such pain before? Where had I gone through this before?!? WHERE?!?!?!?!?!?

I watched through my tearful eyes as the three best friends… or two at least… I had ever had walked away from the fire… walked away from me… walked away… from us.

I watched them go until they were engulfed in the night air… all the while watching as Rika poured herself into Ryo's shoulder… and I stood their a moment. Still questioning where I had learned this self-hatred before?? Still hating myself… still pondering over how I could have been so stupid!! How I could be so careless with my promises… how… how…

I feel the pain from BlackWargreymon's attack, almost as if waiting for the right moment, finally sink in and I feel physical pain that was unimaginable… but what's more… I feel the emotional pain… how… how…

And then… I just ran… because I had nothing. I had no Rika… I had no one. And because I had all of this 'nothing'… then I had nothing to lose in running around… for I had nothing to gain by just walking around aimlessly. But… that's what I was doing anyway, wasn't it? Only… I was running around aimlessly, but I wasn't going back to the camp… I was going wherever my legs carried me… for I did not have Rika… and so… I had nothing. I was… _nothing_.

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A/N: This chapter was, acutally, dedicated to CrazyEight, for if it wasn't for him I would still be frustrated about being unable to update my story. Only one thing about the story… the title makes reference to a chapter in Autumn Leaves… you can go and figure out what was so special about the chapter the title infers, and then you'll realize what I mean by the title. Okay, peace.

Love Always.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"

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	10. Atlantis

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A/N: Spring/Easter break yields many advantages… one being time to type. Say hello to the 10th chapter… Enjoy. Love and be loved. Read… and review. Peace!  
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Atlantis 

_'Is this it?'_

'_Is this the end? Does this begin what was never meant to be? What's to become of us? What will happen to our team? What will happen to the digital world? What is going to happen… from here on out? Does this signify the end of everything… or the beginning of something new?_

_NO! There is nothing else… she was everything… she was_ my_ everything… she… she… she's gone… _

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Off in the distance a boy runs for life… for he believes he has nothing to live for… but does he? Does he have nothing to live for… or does he have the world to live for? He rushes himself to a campfire and stops in front of a small pond located near by.

He looks out across the water and memories of his past rush to him… the joy they had once brought him has been lost and gone forever… he craves the joy they held… but now… now they only bring him pain and misery.

He feels his heart grow weak… pain caused from earlier altercations, and the emotional effects from events just since past cause his stomach to grow violently ill… he puts his hand to his mouth… looks out to the water… his insides churn and he has no more self restraint… he throws up into the water.

He looks at the horrible acid he's left and regrets it… at the moment… he hates everything about himself. He breathes heavily… exhaustion sets in… he collapses to the ground… in his last moment of consciousness he utters the words, "A promise…" and passes out…

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_'Wh… where am I?_' I think to myself, realizing I'm awake, but yet to open my eyes.

I try to regain my sense and touch comes first, as my forehead digs further into… sand! _It was a dream!_

I sit up and open my eyes to the horrible light of the morning. I close my eyes for a second and place my forearm above my eyebrows so as to make it possible to see. I make another attempt to look around but my eyes are still half-blinded by the morning rays. Slowly, however, my vision begins to clear up and I am greeted with the most horrific sight…

Green grass, a burnt out fire, people sleeping… and, as I turn, a pond with sand underneath of where I had passed out. All of these things… were what I had feared I would see. I bite my lower lip, hoping against hope, that in a second, it will all shatter before me… and I will be surrounded by desert… surrounded by the Valley of the Shadows… surrounded by anything… surrounded, even, by nothing…

Anything to comfort me… and take away the fear I hold from last night's… nightmare. For, surely, it was a nightmare. Never, could any of what I dreamt last night be true… how could it? I bite harder on my lower lip… and I feel two tears slide down my face as the cold, hard truth comes crashing down upon me. "She's really gone…"

I stare out across the grassy plains to the last hill visible… to where she last stood before disappearing into the black of night… the image has been captured in my head, and I suspect, it will be there until the end of eternity. For whether they exist or not, when I die, I will certainly carry the image with me to heaven… or hell.

I realize that, because I am blinded by all of this light, it must be morning… I stand up and begin to walk back to the camp. I guess I might as well get a head start on the day before anyone else wakes up… because today is the first day in a new chapter of my life…

Whether that chapter is entitled 'Life without Rika' or 'Getting Rika Back'… I have yet to decide.

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It was about another hour before anyone even started to stir, so I had decided that the time was ripe to get some firewood, so that we wouldn't have to go looking if we needed it for food, or for the fire that night. I was just on my way back when I saw someone had finally woken up!

As I approached the site I could see Jeri's back, as she sat on some crushed pebbles near the pond. The pond- or lake, or whatever it was- was perfect in itself… and, without even realizing it yesterday, it was an almost exact replica of the one at home! _'Wow… touchy subject to fall upon. Wouldn't it be just the place to be right now? A place where Rika and I had so many memories… and the one place I could go to be alone._'I thought to myself.

As I got closer to the camp Jeri still didn't turn around. She simply sat on the rocks, with her two pigtails, and a new black shirt she must have brought with her. I myself was wearing a White shirt with a 'yin-yang' like symbol on the front, however, the regular black and white had been replaces with a red and blue dragon, and the one dragon having it's counters color as it's eye color (red dragon- blue eyes, vice-versa). Along with red basketball shorts… I wasn't a basketball person myself, but these shorts fit nicely.

I stopped in front of the burnt out fire and put the wood down lightly. Jeri still not turned around, I wonder how long it would take her to realize I was there? Better yet! And the plan was set.

I tiptoed over to where she was sitting, and, within four feet and she still had not heard me, I came in closer and she began to see my shadow. Before she could turn around though, I threw my hands up and covered her eyes. I heard her draw in a hushed breath, and I said loudly, "Guess who?"

I saw her attitude change, and then she giggled a bit. "Now, c'mon Simon Green. You know the issue isn't racial."

_'What?'_ That joke sounded so familiar… yet so far away. "What the hell?" I asked her, as I relinquished my hold.  
She turned around in her seat and laughed some more. "Guess Who? Ever seen it?"  
That wasn't what I meant… but still… the movie certainly sounded familiar. "Yeah, why?"  
"WELL, then you'd get the joke." She said, as one trying to explain something so simple to someone who just couldn't understand.

I laughed at whatever she was implying, and took a seat next to her. I now saw that she wore a jean-skirt, and it certainly seemed to fit. She looked very pretty in that outfit and in the morning light. "So where is everyone? In fact… where were you?"

"I was just getting some firewood." I respond, still looking out into the pond… this situation seemed so familiar… yet so far away at the moment.

"Oh really?" She said, turning to see the pile I had brought back. "Well… still… where are the others?" she asked, turning on her side to look at me.

I didn't oblige by doing the same, but I responded coolly with, "What others?"  
She smiled at this and pushed my shoulder in response. "C'mon! You know who else. Where's _Ri-ka_, Takato?" she said, trying to tease me with the name by stretching it out.

I looked out at the pond with fear in my eye. This was such a nice moment… I turned on my side to look at Jeri, and she was taking out her second scrunchy, that held her hair in the ponytails… ergh, pigtails. The light from the morning hit her outline and illuminated her. She looked at me with her lavender eyes… and I felt my breath taken away from me. Memories blew past me like wind, but I couldn't hold on. Something told me to pull away… get away from where I was… but she was so… _beautiful_.

She smiled an odd smile at me, and flirted her eyes mischievously. I wondered what was wrong, and then I felt my cheeks rush with fever… I saw her lean closer, and I did the same. I could see the red of her cheeks… the white of her eyes… and I closed my own.

For one moment…

One brief… innocent…fantastic… moment…

Our lips came together, and we kissed. Fervor was sent in every inch of the moment… but it ended too soon… I had ended it… too soon.

I stared at her in shock, but I knew, almost immediately, there was nothing to be blamed on her. I… I had kissed her. I had destroyed everything that…

That could be saved…  
That could be redeemed…  
That was worth fighting for…

In that single moment… that single, brief, innocent moment… I had destroyed everything I ever had with Rika. Suddenly, as if the dam had been broken, absolutely everything came flooding back to me.

The joke… I had said it to Rika the day I had gotten out of school…  
The pond… like I had said, like the on at home… where Rika and I had…  
The rocks upon which I lied on… like the ones at my our pond at home…  
The light hitting her that way…  
Her hair without scrunchies…  
Her look…

Everything… absolutely everything, was a replica of what I had done with Rika. I rolled over, so Jeri now looked at my back. I felt pain in my stomach much worse then that of last night. I cringed tremendously, and brought my knees close to my body, until I could grab them with my hands. I felt so… so vile! So evil! So cruel…

The self-hatred I had before I left for the firewood was amplified to an infinite degree. I felt my lips twitch, and my entire body shook as if I was seizing. Jeri tried to say something, but I felt deaf in all aspects. I sensed her get up and yell out. I felt as if… death. I looked out once more to the pond… and there my answer lied.

I got on my hands and knees, and looked up to Jeri. She was still calling out to the camp… trying to get someone to come… but they won't. I stood up quickly and ran faster then I had ever before. I could now hear though, and Jeri had succeeded… the others had awaken. "TAKATO!" I heard her call to me as I ran for the water.

"TAKATO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" I could make out- coming from Kazu.

"TAKATO!" Kenta screamed.

I listened to none and continued running. I jumped off a ledge that was no more then a foot off the ground from where the water was. I dove head first… planning to hit the bottom of the no more then three-foot deep water… and end everything…

The depth of the water was not what I had expected… it was… more.  
I splashed down… and sunk.  
As I opened my eyes in the water I bear witness to one the oddest sights I could have imagined… it was…

I look up as I hear someone else come in after me… their body comes at me so fast I have no time to respond… They hit me… and… they're… getting… darker… right… there… _stairs_…

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'_W… what happened?_' I find myself thinking as I regain consciousness.

I open my eyes and my heart jumps a bit as I'm surprised at the sight before me! Everyone is standing over me, surrounding my body looking down at me in a circle. I look around at the faces and examine to see who might not be here and I immediately realize who's not staring down at me. "Where's Guilmon?"

Everyone looks shocked at the question I pose. They all simultaneously stand up and begin to look around for him. Suddenly, Kenta and Kazu move aside and Guilmon comes crashing on top of me! "Takatomon!!!"

I feel a little bit of my breath leave me, but overall, I'm glad to still have my partner with me. Glad I hadn't been successful in… well… I'm glad the water's deep… the water? Wait… "The water!" I say out loud.

Everyone looks at me curiously, and I wonder why? Maybe it was that a yelled that out randomly? Maybe. Regardless, I stand up, and Guilmon comes up with me. I walk towards the water, and everyone walks behind me, afraid I may try another dive. I stare out into the water… "Before… before I was knocked out… I saw something in the water." I say out loud, so everyone may know what I'm thinking."

"Takato… what did you see?" Jeri asks… yet I feel tense answering her question for some reason.

I look at Guilmon and he wears an odd stare while he looks out across the water. It looks as if he's disappointed in it… but in a fatherly-understanding way? I turn to him… he knows. "Guilmon… what's down there?" I ask.

He looks up at me and smiles his well-known smile, "Do you want me to show you, Takatomon?"

I smile my own comforting smile back at him, "If you can…"

He smiles back, and then turns to the pond and puts on a determined stare. He begins walking towards the water, and I follow soon after. After he has started to walk into the water, I realize no one else is coming. I turn on spot and look them all… Kazu… Kenta… Suzy… and Jeri… all uncertain of what to do… all uncertain if I should be leading them. I wave for them to follow, and Jeri comes first. I turn around and follow Guilmon.

He has stopped walking, waiting for me, in knee high water. I stand behind him and wait, "What now?" I ask him.

He smiles while looking sideways at me. He sticks his left claw into the water, and pulls out a large-enough rock. Nothing I couldn't pick up myself… but certainly not with just one hand. "Rock Breaker!" he yells at it and jabs it with his right claw.

The rock disintegrates into data… but what comes next shocks us all! The water where we stand begins to part! It's going to one side or the other, and the stairs that I had seen when I had jumped into the water is revealed to be right underneath where we are standing!

The stairs go on and on, down to the very bottom of the pond and then levels out to underneath where, I had thought the pond no longer extended. I can only stare out into space, wondering how this could possibly be! And then I remember… this is the Digital World… anything's possible here.

Guilmon begins to descend the stairs, and I follow, but halfway down, he trips over his own feet and falls the rest of the way! He sits up after hitting the bottom and just laughs! We all enjoyed the refreshing moment of freedom, but once we get to the bottom we can see clearly a set of dark blue double doors.

We approach them, and Guilmon simply opens the doors. We walk right in and a dark corridor greets us. As we close the double doors behind us, I can't help but hear a rushing of water, as I suspect that pond just became full again.

Guilmon walks through the dark corridor like there's nothing special, nor eerie about it. At the end of the tunnel, we descend more stairs, I'm begging to think this is more of a formality… or rather, that this is not something we should be surprised about. Guilmon opens this door as well, and we are greeted by a pair of digimon, standing guard in front of another door. Two flaming Meramon look at us intently, but Guilmon stands in front of them, not wavering in an equally threatening glare. The two step to opposite sides of the door, and we are granted passage.

Guilmon opens the door, but this time, we are not greeted with dark corridors, or threatening looking digimon… but, instead, with light! Bright, white light comes from the inside of this next room! We enter onto a metal walkway, which overlooked an enormous hall of digimon! Immediately my eyes catch a Flamedramon! I haven't seen one of those since the show! He looks up at me and, for some reason, his jaw drops! He nudges the nearest digimon to him, an Ogremon, and points up to me as we continue to walk on this metal path. The two stared up at us for several seconds, before looking at each other in astonishment, and then back at us. They both bent down and took a knee, staring up at us. They lowered their heads, as if _we_ graced _their_ presence!

Others around them looked at them curiously before peering up at us and, with shocked expressions, doing the same! We continued to walk along the metals path until we came to another door, however, before we could get to it, every digimon in the hall was on one knee and staring down at the ground! I stared out over the edge trying to catch as many digimon as possible… Veemon, Tapirmon, Apemon, a Devimon! WereGarurumon! The most powerful that I could see was a Puppetmon in the corner of the room. I continued to stare out at them in astonishment while Guilmon opened the door, what more could he be-

"I don't care WHAT you have to do! JUST get it done!"

I turned on spot and followed Guilmon into the room, and stared at the most unimaginable sight ever! We were in another brightly lit room, but sitting behind a desk was, "Impmon!" Jeri exclaimed from behind me.

She rushed forward and Impmon just gazed at us in pure shock. "J-Jeri?"

He stood up from his seat and greeted her by, literally, jumping into her arms to meet her hug! Kazu and Kenta filed into the room, smiling at the sight in front of them. The last in was Suzy, and she looked quite upset, but it wasn't surprising. No Lopmon… no Terriermon… and her big brother… her brother!

"Wh-What are you guys doing here?" Impmon asked us after Jeri let him down.  
Guilmon spoke before we had a chance to, "They were the disturbance."  
Impmon looked extremely happy at this news. "Really! You mean? That means… our readings? They were… wrong?"  
Guilmon shook his head. "Three of them left." He said solemnly.  
"Hey! Yeah! Speaking of which, where the heck did they get to?" Kazu asked.

Everyone, for some reason, looked to Suzi! I, however, just stared at the ground, unsure of how to break the news. I knew I would tell them, because I wouldn't let another problem occur like with BlackAugu, ergh, I mean, BlackWargreymon. "They left."

Everyone turned their attention towards me. I continued to stare at the ground, but continued on. "Last night… after everyone went to sleep… Rika and I got into a fight… and then… she, Ryo, and Henry left without another word." I confessed to the floor, feeling a little teary while thinking about Rika again.

I heard Jeri gasp a bit, as she must have realized why I had nearly seized when we had kissed. "They took Renamon with them, I'm guessing." I finished.

"Renamon was with them?" Impmon asked Guilmon.

I didn't look up, but I could tell he had nodded his head. Memories of last night flashed into my head… and yet, I find it impossible to believe that, not twelve hours ago, Renamon was fighting for her life against BlackWargreymon. "Well… I guess it's time to get you filled in with everything." Impmon said to us.

We all looked up at him, and he turned and walked back to in front of his desk, that was about three feet off the ground, and he hopped into his chair, which was just high enough for him to see over the top of. "Well… welcome to our base of operations."

"What!?" Kazu said out loud.

"Our base of operations. This is little place," he said, waving his short little arms around his 'office' and pointing to outside the room, "is the home to the battle against the Darkness."

We looked at him weird, but I was the first to speak. "You mean to say… all those digimon out there… they're all… they're all fighting against the Darkness?"  
"Not just them! We have about thirty-seven other bases spread throughout the digital world."

We all gave shocked expressions and surprising gasps. I was on the way of telling him he was a liar when I considered how large the digital world, and, in contrast to its population, the hall outside was nothing! "So… whose the leader of it all?" I asked.  
"Well," Impmon said, smiling, "now, you guys are!"  
"What!?" I asked in reproach."The leaders _were_ the digimon with partners, as well as the sovereign, and a few other high profile digimon."

"But… you and Guilmon are both here. And, we saw Renamon… how can thirty-seven groups be lead by seven digimon that are not even that well spread out, and three soverign digimon?" Kenta asked.

Impmon looked miffed at the question, but said, "I told you there were others. But… how did you know there were only…-"  
"Renamon told us about his defeat." I interrupted.  
"I see… well… what else do you know?" he asked me.

I finally pulled my eyes from the floor and looked at him, enlighten by a memory. "We know that you know where all the other partners are."

Impmon looked as if he had just been caught in a lie. "Well… yes, we do. But-"  
"No 'buts', chumly! I wanna see Guardromon before I tell you anything about the Valley of the Shadows!"

It was now Impmon's turn to look as if he had been struck by lightening. "You… you've been to the Valley of the Shadows!?"  
"They all have, and so has Renamon! She was there with them." Guilmon responds.

"That's… that's incredible!" Impmon says, stunned. "Guilmon, I want full details, later." He says, and Guilmon nods. "But getting back to my original point, you guys have to lead us now!" he says.

"But… we just got here! How can you expect us to help you, when we don't know heads of tails about this things, or what it's about?" Kazu says.

"Because you are the chosen one's! You are the digidestined!" he says.

Kazu, Kenta, and Jeri smile at this, but, as I turn, I see Suzy's fallen asleep on the floor. I frown, knowing it's probably been an impossible journey for her, I find no happiness in being told I'm a digidestined… because I knew this already. I couldn't quite place where or when it was… but I had come to that conclusion long ago. "Okay… but still-"

A sudden blaring siren goes off not five feet from where we are, and Suzy jumps awake. I look at it with a shell-shocked expression. "What is that thing?" I yell out to Impmon.

He presses a few buttons on a keyboard in front of him (strangely enough, there's no computer or monitor) and the siren ends. A small transparent red screen appears in front of him, and he reads whatever it says. "Well… here we go, already. Guilmon, please, can you and Takato take care of whatever it is?"

Guilmon looks a little angry. "I went out and got them!"

"I know, but we have to get as much information as possible!" he pleads with him.  
"Why? What's wrong?" I ask.  
"Some form of the Darkness is advancing on the base." Impmon says.

"How does it know where we are?" I ask, confused and feeling slightly rushed since the siren has gone off.  
"The Darkness knows where you last were because it's possessing one of the three that left you last night." He responds reluctantly.  
"What!?" we all scream at him.

"It's difficult to explain, but we sensed that a purple portal would have a drop off and we sent Guilmon out yesterday to see what it was. We knew there were nine individuals, and at least one of them was being possessed by the Darkness. Usually, when this happens, it's a digimon being possessed. But, this was different. Since it was you, and we know that Renamon wasn't possessed, then we know that one of those three that left you last night, was, indeed… being possessed by the Darkness."

'_Ryo!_' my mind screams, but I keep silent, with an agitated look on my face, as everything seems to come together and make sense. Ryo must have been possessed by the Darkness, and he must have been twisting Rika and Henry into thinking that I was wrong in everything. "It was Ryo." I say, leaving no room to argue.

"Are you sure?" Impmon asks me cautiously.  
"I know it was him." I say, again, leaving no room to argue.  
He looks at Guilmon and nods. "Now we know, alright, come back as soon as you can."

Guilmon smiles, nods, and then opens the door we came in through. I follow him out the back door and we run out back across the metal walkway. We come to the door we walked through, open up and, just before the door closes, I turn and see the last glimpse of light seep through the door and, if I didn't know any better, I could have sworn those digimon were still bowing…

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A/N: Hmm? What you think? This one was a little shorter, but not too much. I just wanted to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. This one kinda sucked, I'm not gonna lie. Just because it was very low on details, and I don't think I did a good job about it at all… or, at least, not a good enough job as I had hoped to do. I don't know… this one was kind of a let down. Well, you let me know what you think. Okay, peace.

Updated: This was the last chapter I wrote before I went dark. I'm back now, and I'm posting two chapters today. I hope you liked this chapter, because the next one is MUCH better.

Love Always. Rukato Forever.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"  
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	11. Kingdom Come

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A/N: Man, I tried so hard, and I escaped misery. Guess whose back? Back again? P.A.T.'s back. Lets start again. Oh yeah, and this chapter is dedicated to all of the loyal fans who stuck it out. Who waited for the update and stuck by my side even when **I** wasn't even sure if I'd ever write again. Those of you who were here in the beginning, and are here now. You guy's are the best. You know who you are too. Love and be loved. Read… and review!  
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Kingdom Come

I follow Guilmon as he slowly makes his way back the way we came. As we cross through the double doors the two Meramon that stood there when we came through the first time are now gone… but… where did they go? I don't have time to stop and ponder there whereabouts because Guilmon's already through the next door and I'm slowly falling further behind him- his dinosaur legs carry him faster and further with each step then my own legs. The past days journey has taken its toll on me and I feel prepared to just collapse any moment. The pain from everything that's happened is weighing me down and Guilmon's strong and fresh legs keep the spring in his step. But, what's more is that he already has more of spring then I did, and so he has twice as much motion as I do.

I try to keep up but he runs ahead up the stairs and disappears from view as I only just being to climb them. I feel my body wear and tear and I'm all but ready to collapse- but I know I have to keep going. My fingertips graze the top stairs and I come dangerously close to the floor but just as I pull myself back up to my full height I'm greeted by Guilmon whose crouched over. I don't have anytime to react and fall onto his back, but, as I fall, he wraps his dinosaur arms around the back of my legs and begins to run again.

He's giving me a piggyback ride to the battlefield... my pride has been swallowed.

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Guilmon erupts through the last set of doors and the water that had been there was already parted and we climbed to the top of the steps in almost an instant, and I dismount.

All that I can see is a blur. Sand everywhere is being whipped around into whirlwinds, which reminds me eerily of the same one that surrounded BlackAugumon before he digivolved. As I stared out at the area, despite all the darkness, I couldn't help but squint my eyes. I stared for as far as my eyes could see and the sight I witnessed... the horror that was approaching... the devil that would come...

"Guilmon... we... we have to leave... NOW!" I yelled at him.

He looked up at me, and then to where I was staring. Off in the distance, far off, I could see the Dark area that set the boundary between the Valley of the Shadows and the Digital world... and... it was... it was advancing towards us.

The Dark area was literally engulfing parts of the Digital world and making its way towards the base... no Digimon accompanied it... nothing lead the way... the Valley of the Shadows was coming for us.

Guilmon looked at me again with horror in every feature of his face. His mouth hung open, his eyes wide and his ears dropped. Immediately there was no longer a need for words there was nothing left to be said. We didn't even bother to nod- I turned towards the steps we had just ascended and both started running down them.

Climbing down the stairs was much simpler then having to climb up them. I jumped the last 5 or so and so did he. I landed smoothly, only stumbled a little, but maintained my balance. Guilmon, however, didn't land on his feet and collapsed into the wall-of-water. I only turned my head to be sure he was still coming as I continued on and I was reassured when he came blasting through the wall- drenched- yet only about a yard or two behind me. I blast through the doors and rush down the corridor, and after a step or two into the hall I hear a loud crash and suddenly the other door which had blocked the pond off was flung forward past me and hit the ground about 10 feet in front of where I was, however, I past it as I ran by. I turned and Guilmon was stumbling as he continued to run and I could see distinctly behind him that he had blown the wall right off!

I bolted down the rest of the corridor and I could see the final stair case approaching. I had an entire second to think of my options yet as I came up to them I jumped the entire ten or so steps! In the brief second I was suspended in air I felt a destitute feeling that we had no chance of escaping the Darkness. However, I hit the ground and did **not** land. I felt like the end had come... it was all over. I stared up towards the double doors and felt like I had come so close to the end, only to fall apart in the home stretch.

Suddenly, however, I felt a force of power pull the back of my shirt and I was uplifted off the ground and, once again, I was placed on Guilmon's back. He put his head down and head butted the door over. It flung forward and blew the next-door open! He jumped over them with elk-like grace, and, as I stared down at the ground below many of the digimon that had bowed earlier were now in extreme chaos, running everywhere they could, unsure of what was happening.

The final set of doors at the end of the walkway were only a few feet away and Guilmon came to a sudden halt in front of them. He put his claw out and forced the door open, rather then knocking it over. We were greeted by everyone still sitting and standing where they had been before we left. Guilmon dropped me and I felt my head hit the hard floor. Suddenly my vision became blurred, and something about a few hours on unconsciousness was on my plate. However, Kazu rushed to my side and lifted my head off the ground to look at me. His eyes read compassion and concern, and I could tell mine read exhaustion and defeat. "We're dead!" I hear Guilmon yell.

"What?!" I also heard Impmon holler back, but there voices seem to be getting dimmer.  
Kazu bent low to my ear and whispered, "Are you alright?"

He pulled away to look at me and I knew I couldn't lie, "No... not at all." He looked back at me upset, but I wasn't done, "It's game over for us."

"The Darkness is spreading right for here!" I heard Guilmon scream again.

There was suddenly complete and utter silence. No one said a word. I sat up so that my back was no longer on the floor, however, only with help from Kazu. I looked at Impmon to see his reaction. His mouth hung open and he stared all around him... he knew it was over. After another moment, he turned and looked right at me and screamed, "RUN!"

The others looked around at each other, but immediately there bodies started moving towards the door. I felt that, despite being there leader and friend, they would crush me underneath their feet. However, Kazu brought me into a hug and covered my body so as to make that option impossible.

The digidestined were out the door and I could tell a few had, indeed, stepped on Kazu's back on their way out. He rolled off of me and Guilmon lifted both of us up with both hands. He threw me over his shoulder into the position I had come accustomed to and as we got outside the door, Impmon yelled down the base below, "WE'VE BEEN COMPROMISED! EVERYONE RUN!"

Guilmon JUMPED over the bar and landed in a clear patch of land on the lower level of the base and started heading for a tunnel in the corner, which I assumed was the only other exit? He handed Kazu over to an ExVeemon, who immediately took to the air and flew into the tunnel. Guilmon continued to run, but suddenly I heard a whirlwind of action behind me and the next thing I knew, Beelzemon was flying past us with Jeri and Suzy in his arms. As we made our way through the tunnel I could clearly see Kenta sitting atop of an Infermon who was swiftly making his way through the dark tunnel.

It was completely dark, however, every 20 feet or so there was a light built into the ceiling and walls so that the path was illuminated. It's like we'd entered a cave and this was our only way out. We grew further away and I could see, after turning around, that despite how many more were much further ahead of us, there were still many digimon behind Guilmon and me as well. I could also see a Stingmon standing at the front of the tunnel, which was now at least a football field's-length away. He held his claws out above his head, and his legs spread, which was reminiscent of a star. However, as we grew further away I suddenly witnessed one of the most frightening sights ever. The Darkness came through the tunnel, and engulfed the Stingmon immediately...

There was no scream...  
No cry for help...  
No movement by him...  
No data...  
He was just... gone.

I turned my head and looked ahead to where Guilmon was looking and another frightening sight befell me. There were no longer any digimon directly in front off us. They were all at least a half a mile ahead. Beelzemon was standing tall, staring at us and suddenly it dawned on me that the reason we were so far behind was because I was weighing Guilmon down. He was loosing strength and energy trying to carry me. I jumped off, and yet, he stumbled and collapsed.

I looked ahead again to where Beelzemon was. His head was down, but was it in exhaustion or something more? Just then a few digimon started to scurry past collapsed Guilmon and me and yet... something was wrong. Beelzemon looked up towards us, and stuck his right arm out at length and his Blaster gun formed itself. He looked to the ceiling, and pointed his Blaster to wherever he was looking. I turned my head and the slowly approaching Darkness was only a mile or two of tunnel away! I turned back around and Beelzemon was now looking back at us. What... was... he... doing?

"I'M SORRY!" I heard him scream.

'_No... NO!'_ My head screamed... he... he was going to...

The end of his Blaster became illuminated, and then a ring started to appear around it. "NOOOOOOOO!" I screamed to him, but it was too late. The shot was fired and it crashed right into the ceiling... the cavern walls crumbled, and the roof came down.

He had blocked off the walls to stop the Darkness from advancing...

_'It's all over... it's finally all over.'_

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Behind me, the Valley of the Shadows was quickly approaching. In front of me, Beelzemon's blocked off the only exit. All around me, in front and back, on my left, and on my right stood helpless digimon, looking to me for guidance... for leadership... I could not lead them even if the path was not blocked off. I looked at Guilmon, and saw him start to stir a bit. He rolled over and looked up at me, "I'm... I'm sorry Takatomon."

I smiled at him, "You have nothing to be sorry for, Buddy."

I looked at the other digimon and saw a WereGarurumon, "You! Pick him up and carry him. The rest of you, go to that blockade."

The many digimon crowded around me looked up at me in confusion, "We're going to blast through that wall!" I yelled at and immediately they all started running for the rocks, and the WereGarurumon picked up Guilmon and started running. I turned and looked behind me... if the Darkness hadn't been a mile away before, it surely was now. I looked to the group of upcoming digimon rushing past me and jumped on to the back of a Paildramon as he ran past.

It didn't take but a few seconds to reach the block, but those few seconds were the difference between living and dying if we couldn't blast through. I dismounted the digimon, and looked around. Guilmon was sitting down, clearly still defeated from all the energy he had just lost from running. I turned to the Darkness to check its advance again, and then looked at the other digimon. "Alright! Just try and drill through with all of the energy you've got! We don't have time to screw around!"

All of the immediately began to charge there own attacks and fire at a different section of the wall. I ran over to Guilmon, and looked at the effort my 'troops' were giving. For the first wave, none of them even made a dent. I looked out around them and I realized we had no Mega digimon. The most powerful digimon we had were the WereGarurumon, Paildramon, and a MetalMamemon. Those three, attacking together, were capable of deleting a single rock! I turned to see the Darkness advancing faster then ever! _'NO!'_

I looked around at the digimon and called out, "Can't any of you digivolve to Mega?!?!"

They all stopped their attacks and turned towards me. They looked around at each other uncomfortably, as if disappointed in themselves and disgraced that none of them were capable of reaching the pinnacle of digivolution. However, the WereGarurumon looked past me, and pointed his limp finger behind me. I turned immediately and looked towards the Darkness, which was still advancing quickly, now barely still a football field's length away. I turned back towards him and screamed, " I KNOW IT'S COMING!"

"No. Not that... _him_!" He replied in an awed voice.

I turned around again and sitting right behind me was Guilmon. He looked up at me, his mouth hanging open and a look in his eyes that read, 'Of course!'

"Guilmon... do you think... is it at all possible... could we..." I said, shocked at the revelation that befell me.

He looked at me solemnly, and then started to get up. He stood tall looking at me and said, "Whatever it takes!"  
I smiled at him, and then looked out at what was coming for us. The Darkness was either just over or just under two hundred yards away. I looked back to Guilmon and smiled brighter, "Then let's do IT!" I screamed!

Suddenly a tingling sensation was flowing through my body. I had no digivice, but it didn't matter. I looked at him and an aura of red flowing energy surrounded both of us. I lifted my right hand and held it in the air, waiting for his hand. He slowly raised his own claw and brought it... closer... to... _mine_!

In a flash of brilliance I felt my entire body quiver and shake from all of the power, and the familiar strength of matrix digivolution! Suddenly, I felt our energies converge and our bodies became intertwined. Our strength became tangled. Our power... singular. Our being... one.

Gallantmon is alive!

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I opened my eyes and I could see out of those of Gallantmon's. In front of me stood many digimon, awed and shocked at what they had just seen. I turned slightly and the Darkness was so much closer! It was barely a hundred yards away!

I turned towards the wall of rock, and lifted my lance, and with it, I cleared a clean path towards the rocks. The digimon all around me stood aside, and I lifted my shield towards the rocks... "Shield... of the JUST!"

An enormous beam of white, red, and orange energy erupted from the shield and I squinted my eyes as the light was blinding. Many of the digimon on the side took steps back and held the arms to their faces to try and block the sight from their eyes. I held the shot for a few seconds more and turned my head to see the Darkness only 50 yards away! I let go and, and the beam halted. The digimon standing on the sides immediately started running through the hole that was left in the rocks. It was a clean, perfect circle right into the bottom of the rocks.

I watched as they all followed in, and then I jumped into where the hole started. I turned on spot and stared as the Darkness moved closer, and closer! "Well, Guilmon... it's do or die now."

"Whatever it takes." He said within Gallantmon, to me.  
I laughed a bit, "Then let's DO IT!"

I held the shield up again at length, and screamed out, "SHIELD OF THE JUST!"

The Darkness was no more then 20 yards away... right in front of me... the shot took off... the Beam his the wall of towering evil... an explosion... I'm blinded... I close my eyes... and... _nothing_. I feel every fiber in my body begin to disintegrate and all the power in me is gone. Everything I've got... is now gone.

I feel my head pounding... my body is weak... I can't possibly take any more of this... I'm dying... I know it. I feel the last few moments of consciousness begin to slip away... Good-bye world... it really is over.

"It... is... finished." I hear... but who says it... I'll never know.

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A/N: I hope you liked it ;D Seems like a good chapter for my first writing in just about 3 months, right? Again, this was a really short chapter, but I typed it in two days flat, so please excuse me but I'd like to think I'm still a really good writer. But what happened to Guilmon and Takato? Have they been deleted? Are they dead? Are they alive? Are they back in the Valley of the Shadows? Only I know. Damn, it feels good to be back.

Love Always. Rukato Forever.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"  
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	12. The Great Flooding of Atlantis

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The Great Flooding of Atlantis

I open my eyes, but I am blinded. I quickly shut them and squint strongly in attempt to block the light from coming any further into me. I sit up and turn my head to my lap. I slowly open my eyes and yet it is still far too bright. After a couple of seconds my eyes adjust and I look down at a grassy plain. I look up and to my left is, for as far as the eye can see, shin-high grass with spread out assortments of different flowers. To my right- more shin-high grass with flowers. Ahead of me- the same. "Where the hell am I?"

"You're here."

I turn around on the ground and squint a little bit as the sight before me shocks my whole system- it's Rika! She wore a white ribbon in her hair, a pink silk shirt, and a white skirt, and outfit that seemed oh so familiar, but I just couldn't place it. I stand up and run towards her as fast as I can. She returns my enthusiasm with a smile and barely makes it two steps towards me before I'm there and hugging her like it's the last moment I'll ever have with her. After a second I realize she's not returning my embrace and something's different. Fear overwhelms me and suddenly it all comes crashing back as I remember everything that's gone on between us.

I look out across the plains and something's changed. It's suddenly darker. No- don't say it's true. Tell me this isn't-

"I know what you're thinking. I love you, Takato." She says.

I push off her shoulders so that her arms are still around my ribs, and I'm still looking at her, "I love you too." I say, smiling as if my life hinged on the very words.

She smiles at me and this is… this is amazing! But… aren't we…

She gives me an uncomfortable look and squirms a little as she prepares to say something, "Takato, you have to listen to me, this is VERY crucial."

I look at her and something about her just seems… more… alive. That sounds so strange to say, but it's the truth. I notice, however, that her hair is not blood red any longer, nor does it seem dead or dying, her cheeks have color in them, and her eyes… they're ring free… but… how? "Takato… none of it's true."

"WHAT?!" I say in utter shock of this statement. What was she implying by that?

"The Rika that broke up with you… the one that shattered you… that collapsed in the Valley of the Shadows… that was in the portal when they arrived to the digital world… That's not me." She says.

I stare at her in befuddlement. What on earth was she talking about? "Impmon told you that one of us was possessed by the Darkness." She says, and suddenly my world dies.

"No." I say in response. "Not… not you."

"Not just me, Takato. Me, and Ryo, and Henry. All of us. The Darkness overtook us in a strange world caught between the digital world and the real world. The others weren't affected, but the Darkness overwhelmed us. I don't know what eventually did it, but something inside me saved us."

I stared at her, but my eyes were hollow. I was comprehending it all, and everything was making sense but… but… how could it be true? And where had I heard that before? '_A strange world caught between the digital world and the real world?_' Why did that sound so familiar, when no such place existed? At least… none that I'm aware of. "Takato, your time here is almost up."

And suddenly I snapped back. "What!? You mean… I'm not dead?"

"No! Not at all. And no, you're not in the Valley of the Shadows either." She said, and discounted any questions before I could ask them about if that's where I was.

"So… if I'm not dead, and I'm not in the Valley of the Shadows… then where am I? And how are you wherever I am?"

She actually laughed at this! She giggled a little bit, leaned in and gave me a quick peck on the lips. "Your ridiculous sometimes, ya know?"

My eyes widened at this last statement as it only proceeded to confuse me more. "What the h-"

"Takato. You're unconscious. Somehow, Henry, Ryo and I are able to break through the chains that are holding us down and sift through the unconscious recess of inactive minds."

"OKAY! Too many big words." I openly admit my lack of vocabulary.

She laughs some more and says, "Somehow the three of us can enter into your unconscious minds when you're out cold, or asleep. We were unsure of how to do it when we first were captured, so we couldn't do anything when you guys spent the first night."

But a sharp image of an unconscious Suzy popped into my mind and I jumped, "But Suzy was asleep in Impmon's office! Why didn't you guys-"

"We can't access your minds every time. It takes a lot of power of will to break the chains that hold us down." She says.

"That's the second time you mentioned being held down by chains. What's that about?" I ask out of curiosity.

She looks a little uncomfortable, but answers reluctantly, "We're inside the Dark us. Like… the real Henry is inside the Dark Henry. The real Ryo is inside the Dark Ryo, and I'm inside the Dark Rika. We can see out of their eyes, but we can't resist the actions that they do. We're wrapped in chains and being held captive inside our own skin! I almost broke free of mine when Renamon arrived, and Henry actually got free and back into himself when you and Ryo were fist fighting. And, oh, Takato! You've been so brave!" she says, and brings me into a tight embrace and I'm at a loss for words to say with so much being thrown at me all at the same time.

"Wha-"

"If you could hear what we've been saying while you've been fighting through all of this, ooh. It broke my own heart to watch that witch break your heart last night. I'm so sorry, Takato. I love you. I do! I swear! But-"

I pressed my finger to her lips, "I believe you."

She smiles and kisses my finger. Suddenly, however, the light is extinguished. It's now dark and everything around me is growing colder. "Oh no!"

"What!? What?!?!?" I scream. I can still see Rika, but her tone is threatening.  
"You're waking up. Before you go, you need to know one thing! You've got to kill me, and Henry, and Ryo."  
"WHAT!? Never! I won't do it, Rika."

"You've got to do it! You've got to kill me! I can't live like this, I don't want to harm you, or our friends!" she says, and the words are hollowed as I feel myself being swept away as everything around me begins to deteriorate before my very eyes.

"But!"  
"NO BUTS! Promise you'll kill all of us."  
"But I-"  
"TAKATO!" She screams as she knows I'll be gone any second.  
"Fine! I promise!" I scream reluctantly, but at the last second something clicks. "Rika! I love you!"  
"I love you too, Takato. Always."

"And forever." I whisper, but I know there was no way she heard me. It was all gone and I could hear new sounds erupting into my ears. I was conscious again.

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"_And forever_." I let escape my lips.

I begin to my eyes, but I am drowned out. I close them quickly as, after the bright flower plain, my eyes are not prepared for the suffocating darkness. I sit up, rub my eyes, and look into my lap. After a few moments my eyes adjust to the _lack_ of light, and I can look around. I realize I'm surrounded my many stunned Digimon. They wear shocked expressions, and I can only wonder why. It's not like they didn't just watch a Biomerge digivolution, and then see a Mega digimon stop the towering wall of Darkness from devouring them. Nothing like that.

I stand up, and they cower away, throwing aside the fact that they could all probably kill me if they felt like it. I look around and see another small group surrounding Guilmon. I walk towards him, and the masses step aside as I approach, and I look down at him, as he's still unconscious. I gently bend down and scoop him into my arms, but he's far too heavy. I put all of my effort into it and left him up off the ground and, somehow, back into a standing position.

I march forward; towards the hole we created together… the hole that will lead me to Impmon… '_Impmon!_' I go into the tunnel and can see light through the other side, although it is an extremely long tunnel. It's an onerous trot through the semi-darkness, as I try to absorb everything that I've just witnessed and gone through. The last two days… or is it three days? Or is it more? However long it's been, the last few days have been the longest of my life. Never in my life has such a drastic changed occurred over the course of such a short time spa…

But it has- last Autumn. The three days that would forever change my life. It's funny to look back on that now and see that Jeri rejected me, and three nights later I was mugged, all the while encountering the most amazing person ever. Those three days are, with no doubt in my mind, the most dramatic and life-altering days of my life. Not even the last few have been as drastic as those were. But… these three aren't over yet, and I'm at the end of the tunnel now.

I come across and out of the Darkness to the sight of a sea of digimon. It seems as if I was mistaken before, for there are far many more digimon then there were in the tunnel. I see Impmon, but he's shocked. I walk over to him and the others, and I put Guilmon down slowly in front of them, and the words are out of my mouth before I can even think to say them, "We have to go back."

Impmon looks up at me solemnly and nods his head. There's an unspoken understanding between us that there's something important about going back and checking out the base to see if there was anything worth uncovering.

Something was back there… something about that base was calling us back to it. Something I just couldn't put my finger on. It was enchanting, but threatening at the same time. A voice was speaking in the back of my head, imploring me to search through the area overtaken by the Darkness… to understand this complex figure… this immortal monster… this… this… darkness.

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It wasn't long before Impmon and I were walking down the cavern walled tunnel back to the base. "What are you expecting to find back here?" he asks me suddenly.

I continued walking without looking at him. The tunnel was almost ending… I could feel whatever heightened senses I was feeling get stronger. An almost longing to discover the Darkness and witness how it operates had overcome me. I desired nothing more then to truly become my enemy, so I could learn how to destroy it. If I could destroy the Darkness… then I would not have to kill Rika. That was my goal. That was my plan. My ambition. "I don't know… not yet."

We continue to walk towards the end of the tunnel, drowning in the silence. Being swallowed whole by a mixture of murderous quiet, and awkwardness, as a soundless assailant furiously builds a wall between us, and the emptiness is left at simply that… empty.

I feel a destitute feeling slowly stretching across my skin, as it begins to overcome me. I feel an icy breath down the back of my neck, a cruel whisper begs for something more, but I do not turn to face the villain, for I know if I look, I'll surely be looking at a blank wall… there's no one there… there never is.

I can not escape this cold feeling as we cross over the threshold, and behold the wonders of……

Death.

The sight that stands before us is like nothing I've ever seen before. There are probably a dozen words I could think of to describe it but the first to come to mind is '_grey_.'

Grey. Grey. Everything is… _grey_. I look all around the entire base and everything is grey. I feel the uneasy cold creep up and down my skin as it engulfs me, and everything is just… eerie. I suddenly feel as if I'm being watched by a thousand eyes. A suffocating feeling of isolation and self-consciousness overtakes me. Everything that I know is vanishing.

I blink, and blank empty dark spots appear in my vision, and I am afraid. I turn and run from where I am back into the tunnel. I breathe heavily for a few moments before looking around and I can see Impmon also panting, as if he just ran three miles with those short little legs of his.

I look up at him and he stares right back… the decision is made… the base is no longer compromised… it's been fully taken over. There's no turning back anymore… this war is ours… this is where the battle started… and this will be where the battle ends… it starts with me… and it shall end with me. I swear it. I _promise_ it.

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We made our way back through the tunnel, and returned to the new base. We we're just entering the new headquarters room for Impmon when he finally spoke again, "Takato… I think it's time that I apologized."

"For what?" I ask him, although the vague image of his blaster gun is present in my mind.

"For… well… for almost killing you." He says, although the words seem to just stumble from his mouth.

"Impmon… don't even bother. I can hardly begin to image the impossible position you were in. Kill a few, or kill them all? I guess, in a way, it's a good thing you chose to do what you did. It allowed for Guilmon and me to find our niche together, again. Now… now we're more prepared to fight off the Darkness, then we ever were before." I told him, firmly.

He seemed unsatisfied with his lack of apology, but content with being forgiven. I smiled at him, and he picked up an ear piece and placed it to his rather huge ears. He pressed his finger to the keyboard of a computer without a monitor. However, suddenly the room was alive with sound, "Hello, sir."

"At ease, Admiral." Impmon spoke, coolly. "Your orders are to first seal of the H.Q. in District Two-One-Five. And secondly, give me an update on all our reinforcement bases and H.Q.'s."

After several seconds of silence, finally the loud, hoarse voice spoke again, "Two-One-Five is sealed off, sir. But… I'm afraid to report we've had heavy, heavy casualties."

Suddenly, the air in the room was no longer alive with sound. It was dead with silence. "Wh-what do you mean… heavy casualties?!" Impmon fumbled out.

"Sir… Two-One-Five was not the only base compromised by an advancing Darkness." The unknown digimon responds.  
"Well… how many of the bases WERE compromised?" Impmon lets out.  
"All of them…"  
"All of them!?!?"  
"All but three, sir."  
"Which one's survived!? And how is this possible?!"  
"Bases One-Eight, and Three-Two were the only bases that we're able to seal themselves off before being destroyed by the Darkness… there were… I'm afraid to report… no survivors from the remaining bases."

Thirty four bases… with hundreds, possibly even thousands of digimon per base… gone. Just… wiped away in a matter of seconds. All of it… just… _gone_.

The thought blew my mind and the image of the Stingmon was present in my mind. How many more Stingmon were there? How many more innocent digimon lives were lost in this war that I had just entered? Yet, this was just the beginning. How many more Stingmon would there be? How many more lives would be lost by the end of the day? By the end of the week? Month?!

… How many lives would be lost by the end of the war? How many poor, innocent, defenseless Digimon would have there data just erased? How much of the Digital World would the Darkness have obliterated by the time we faced the entity that empowered it? How much more could the Digital World possibly take? How much more would I be able to take… how much more would I be able to put out… how… how… how…

"Sir… there's something else." I heard from the ear piece, which the volume rang loud and clear throughout the whole room.

"What? What else is there?"

"The areas occupied by Darkness… they've been truly compromised. Darkness Digimon from the Valley have invaded the tunnels systems that weren't sealed off. Areas Eighteen, and Thirty-two have very strong defenses, and they've successfully held off approaching attacks, but there's a reason for that."

After a few seconds of vicious silence, Impmon finally spoke, saying "Well?!"

"Oh, right! Sorry, sir. It seems that the core of the Darkness Digimon that are inside the tunnel system are moving right past Eighteen, and Thirty-two, and headed-"

"Straight for us!" I scream out as the realization is far too obvious.  
"Admiral! How long have you known this?!" Impmon asks.  
"The entire time, sir." He responds.  
"Adm… no! Tuskmon, tell me the truth, have you been holding back this entire time?"

Suddenly, a screen appears from nowhere, in front of Impmon. It is a scattered signal, but it clears up abruptly and the image of a DarkTuskmon is shown. "You're age is apparent in your common sense… **sir**." He says, mocking Impmon.

Impmon, however, does not respond and simply gapes at the image before him. The DarkTuskmon begins to laugh viciously at us, and the screen becomes scattered again, and then the screen disappears. Impmon's ears fold, and the ear piece thuds to the ground. He turns his head towards me and I turn away, for I can not dare look at the defeat and shame etched into every line on his face. "Ta… Ta… Takato… I've failed."

I turn to him immediately and thunder is in my voice, lightening in my stare, "You haven't failed anything yet!"

Again, suddenly a scream appears from no where, and a large map appears. In the center is a red dot, which is pulsating with a ring around it. In two distinct directions of the middle dot are a dot on the left and a dot on the right. One read "18" and the other "32." They both have minimal to no black neighboring them, however, the middle dot… our dot… is enclosed in black… surrounded by black. We're trapped in our own base.

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I stare at the black surrounding our base… and yet I feel a need to fight back, regardless of how great the odds may be stacked against us. "Impmon… is there **any** way out?!" I holler at him, regardless of the fact that he is only a few feet away from me.

"No… there is none." He says, as he collapses onto the floor and stares up at the ceiling.  
"NO! NO! NO!" I scream at him, and rush to his side. "Think! There **has** to be a way out! There just has to be!"  
He stares limply up at the ceiling… and a smile dawns upon his face. "There is…"  
My eyes light up. My lips grow wet. This is it! This is it! "How! How!? How?"  
He turns and stares at me. "Through the roof."  
I look up and I am not smiling. What does he mean?! "What?"

"If you and Gallantmon, and Beelzemon blow the roof up… the water, because, ya know, the tunnels are _underground_ will empty out into the base… it'll swallow the entire base in water, and we can escape through the hole we create! You, me, and all of them!" he says, pointing out side.

"All of them?" I ask.  
"All of them!" he responds enthusiastically.  
"Call them all to the roofs of the buildings, I'll get Guilmon… and we can blow this place to pieces!"  
"Yes! And with the water crushing the base below… we can drown out Darkness Digimon!"  
"Perfect!" I say, "Now… call them together!"

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In five minutes, we were able to call together all of the digimon in the base, some eight-hundred digimon, onto the roofs of this underwater city, and they were prepared to take flight into the hole Gallantmon and Beelzemon would create. I stood next to Guilmon in the center building, the HQ room we had been in earlier, with Beelzemon, already digivolved, next to me.

"Ready, Guilmon?" I ask him.

"Of course." He says, and we place our hands together, and the powers align… the tingling sensation comes and goes… Gallantmon is alive.

We look up to the ceiling… a glass roof, protecting this city from the water. "Ready?" Beelzemon asks me.

"Of course we are." We say.  
"Alright… on three."  
"One…"  
"THREE!" I scream, "SHIELD OF THE JUST!"  
"CHAOS FLARE!"

The two blasts took off, connected in mid-flight, and crashed into the ceiling. Suddenly, I could see through Gallantmon's eyes as every Digimon took flight, and headed towards the hole that would be in a few seconds.

As the dust cleared, it became clear that the impact of the combined shot left an enormous hole in the glass, and the water receded from the impact of the shot. The Digimon filed in, and Beelzemon took flight as well, following them. I followed suit, and we were on our way to freedom… drowning our enemy out in water.

The two of us cleared the hole, the last of all Digimon to do so, and turned, just in time, to see the water being to flow in course, and then… the city was gone. Impmon had made sure the same plan had been set up for the remaining bases, as it was the only way out. The two of us turned on spot, and began are flight to freedom.

We flew straight up for almost thirty seconds, as the double shot had created a hole in the soil above the water as well that would lead to the surface ground, until we finally emerged from the underground prison to the warm air of… hell.

We landed on sand, and surrounding us was a desert… but it was all too-familiar. Tornadoes raged in the far off land… purple portals flew around like mad… sand blew like wildfire burning up a forest. Beelzemon and I walked over to the other digidestine, who stood before all of the other digimon who had escaped, and, far off, in the distance stood two menacing figures, as, just as the Stingmon had done, the image before me left a sting on my mind that I will never forget.

Far off, in the distance, stood two digimon: BlackWargreymon, and Justimon, but he was dark… so I should rather call him ChaosJustimon. The urge was too strong… my desire too powerful… my desire for vengeance… for revenge… for vindication… it called me too much to resist. Without warning or notice, I took flight, holding my lance out at full.

I saw it happen in a matter of seconds. BlackWargreymon was gone, and ChaosJustimon braced himself for battle, as I lifted the lance up, brought it back down with force, but he jumped out of the way.

I dug my sword into the ground, and pulled it out, but, reminiscent of Renamon, as I brought it out to its full extend ChaosJustimon landed on top of it, and ran at me. Before I could respond he had landed his right foot into my jaw.

The blow was not powerful, at all, but I let on that it was, and as I began to fall backwards, ChaosJustimon did a somersault in mid-air, and during his cycle, I took balance and jabbed at him with my lance…

Direct hit! I got him right in the back, and his body withered at the end of my weapon and I brought the sword out from underneath him. His body began to fall towards the ground, and I brought my knee cap up, and prepared for a melee. His almost lifeless body hit my knee, and it bounced back upwards, but not far. I brought my elbow to in front of me, and hit his stomach again. His body thrust downward again, but not before his already ruined back met my knee cap again. This time his limp body was an easy target. In a swift movement, I moved backwards a step, and his body turned perfectly in mid-air as his back was, again, exposed. I brought my leg out to its full and kicked his weak body with all the force that I could.

It soared through the air, straight for BlackWargreymon, however, the next sight frightened me. BlackWargreymon lifted up Beelzemon, whose body was also limp and used him as a human shield and ChaosJustimon hit my partner right on.

BlackWargreymon made a quick movement out of the way, and let go of Beelzemon so that the two of them went flying off into the distance… away from the real battle.

I looked across the field… no more then 50 yards away stood the Digimon who lied to me… to deceived me… who fooled me. He will never live to tell his tale. "You can not live… I will not allow it!" I screamed across to him.

He simply smiled that wicked smile, and it official. One of us would die… right here… right now.

I brought my lance to my side, and dropped my shield to my side. He took up the wing-like shield from off his back, and tossed it aside. This would not be a defensive battle… not at all. I crouched into an appropriate position, and so did he. There was a moments hesitation in which it seemed like there was no desert… there were no 800 digimon watching… there were no digidestine present… there was no Darkness… it was just him… and me. Then, it was gone, as we both took flight… aiming to kill… taking no prisoner.

I lifted my lance up towards him, and be brought his claw up… this… was… it!

"STOP!"

Too late! He had frozen on spot, and moved his head to look for the voice but I had continued on and brought my lance right into his left arm, where, if a second sooner had passed, his chest would have been.

He groaned in pain, but yanked his hand out my lance. I brought my sword up to its fullest height, and prepared to bring him down, with or without his attempts to fight back, when it happened. I couldn't feel my arms. I couldn't feel my legs. I couldn't feel anything. "I said, stop."

The voice was shrill and cold. It was dark, and brooding. It threatened… and it dared. "This is unnecessary, BlackWargreymon. Retreat, at once. And bring that fool, ChaosJustimon, with you."

"I can not, master. Never! It is too late for retreat."  
"You are sadly mistaken. It's not too late… it's never too late."

"I still refuse to retreat!" BlackWargreymon spoke, however, just like myself, he was incapable of moving… he was trapped. But… 'master?' Then… then… this must be… this is the… this is THE Darkness. The entity that controlled it. The monstrosity that ruled over the Darkness.

"If you refuse to retreat, then I will bring you back. Prepare yourself." It spoke again, but its voice now came from nowhere… yet everywhere.

And, before my own eyes, BlackWargreymon began to disintegrate into data and, I could see out of the corner of my eye, so did ChaosJustimon. "This is not over yet, boy." BlackWargreymon spoke.

I looked at him, "It won't be over until I suck up the last pieces of your worthless data." I said cruelly.

"Calm yourself, Takato. Your battle is not with him, but, rather, it is with me." The Darkness spoke to me. I noticed its voiced boomed with each syllable, and it rumbled the earth beneath my feet.

"Don't worry… you'll get your fair share as well." I replied.

It laughed a high, shrieking laugh that taunted me, but there was nothing I could do. I was incapable of controlling my own body… the Darkness had its hands on me. "We shall see who is victorious between us, Takato… the light… or the Darkness." It said again, with that same laugh.

Suddenly, I felt my arms come down hard onto the ground and my lance penetrated the ground, as large crevasses spurted from the end of the sword. I was back in control of my own body. I looked around, as the Valley of the Shadows, whether I wanted to believe it or not, was sucked away from where we were. The walls that isolated us from the rest of the digital world and the Valley of the Shadows, actually receded. After watching them so menacingly advance… it was a miracle to see them back away.

We were left alone… surrounded by the walls leading to the Valley of the Shadows… us eight-hundred some odd digimon… Beelzemon… Guilmon and me… and the rest of the digidestine. Stranded… left for nothing…

Let the war begin.

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A/N: Thank you, thank you. I didn't bother going back over this chapter because it's 3 AM, and this was probably the last chance I was going to have to work on my typing for the rest of the summer, so here it is. I want to thank everyone who's been with me this whole time. Especially thanks to a reviewer who goes by the name of: Hart. I appreciate your reviews man, they certainly were encouragement to finish this up. There's a lot to re-read about this chapter, but of course, the whole idea was that the underground bases, and head quarters, and tunnel system were like the city of Atlantis. Thus, the title of the chapter. I know, you love it. Well, I hope you all liked this chapter, and thanks again to all of you who have been loyal. I love you guys.

Love Always. Rukato Forever.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"

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	13. Act Too

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A/N: Let me set the mood right (plays recording for awhile). Hmmm… yeah… this is,, yeah this is good. Let me just,,, yeah, just let me jam to this real fast… yeah, feels right: '_Just let me set the mood right, and that may make you feel alright. If I set the mood right, promise girl you'll feel alright._' Love and be loved. Read… and review!

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Act Too…

Some say… war is hell. These people, obviously, have never seen the horror of the Darkness at work... never dealt with the Valley of the Shadows... never gone through such a life altering three days… twice. The seconds of those days have NEVER ticked by slower. It's almost like time has just stopped all together. I can't possibly wait for tonight to come… just for another chance to see Rika again… just the small chance is more than enough to lift my spirits.

I stand amidst some eight hundred digimon, four other digidestine, and Beezlemon. I feel a sudden surge of emptiness fill my stomach, and I grow bright with light. I feel as if cords inside of me have been unplugged as the light engulfs me and we de-digivolve back into Guilmon and myself. I find myself left in a desert much less mercurial than that of the Valley of the Shadows, yet, a desert nonetheless. I search for acceptance among the masses… they stare at me for several moments and then, suddenly, an uproar is heard. Cheers explode from every which direction. The crowd begins free flowing towards us. For the first time since we arrived… I feel I am being applauded for my accomplishments.

It's about damn time.

I lift my arms up, and I feel the acknowledgment for my hard work is finally being appreciated. I feel many digimon surge past and feel them just brush my arms. Suddenly, a few stop and grab every inch of my body they can get there hands on. They begin to raise me up, and I feel the weight of my body disappear as I am lifted off my feet and raised high onto the hands of these worshiping monsters. I feel myselfbeing removed from the earth and it's like a huge weight has been removed from my shoulders as I realize that I really can't walk anymore… I just can't possibly take another step. I can faintly hear chants of 'Gallantmon' and 'Beezlemon' in my ears, but I the light that I see is fading… for the second time in so long… I can feel unconsciousness overtake my entire body.

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_"Taaaaaaaakkkkkkaaaaaatttttooooooooo."_

Wh-what's that sound? Who… who's calling me?

_"Takato!"_

I can see light… but… it's so far away. I… I _need_ to touch the light.

_"TAKATO!"_

The voices… they sound so familiar…. They sound like… like… like…

I feel my entire body begin to tremor as I feel my entire being shake and wobble. I open my eyes and the light I saw… the light I _needed_ to touch is everywhere. I look up to the person responsible for shaking me awake and it's not a person at all! "Gaurdromon!" I exclaim.

I sit up and grab hold of him, hugging this metallic robot monster. I had for forgotten him in the rush of everything and I guess… he just slipped my mind and now he's the only thing I know is real. "It's good to see you too, Takato." He says to me.

I sit up and all around me are my friends and, shockingly, their partners! I look around in disbelief… how… how could this be?! I turn to Kenta- and there he is with MarineAngemon, the little (quite literally) angel digimon sitting on his shoulder! Gaudrdromon brakes free of my grasp backs up to stand next to Kazu, and last, but not least, Lopmon, the female version of Terriermon, sits in Suzy's lap looking up at me with a smile. I turn and see Impmon unconscious on the floor. Nap time is over… we've still got a war to fight. "What… what on Earth happened!?" I sputter out.

"YOU tell US!" Jeri hollers from behind me, and I turn tail and see her sitting alone on a rock… we're still in the desert.

"What do you mean?" I ask her back.

"What do I mean!? What on earth was that!? You we're so close to killing him and you couldn't bring down the final blow!"

I stared in disbelief as the memories of my battle come flooding back. I had not voluntarily kept my Gallantmon-arm held straight up. No. The Darkness has some sort of control over me. Some kind of power over me. Some kind of possessiveness. But… how? "It's not that I didn't want to… I couldn't." I said after a long enough silence.

"What do you mean you couldn't!?" she asked back, no longer on the offensive, but seemingly grasping the awe in my voice at the impossibility.

"I… I don't know how. The Darkness had some kind of _power_ over me… it… it controlled my limps." I said, with my voice still full of awe.

The others looked around at one another in a somewhat disbelief, but they accepted it for what it is. "Well… still… what now? Where do we go from here?" Kazu asked from behind me.

Suddenly a thought of a field of grass and flowers burst into my mind and I knew exactly what we had to do. "Where do we go from here? We go to bed." I said seriously.

They all looked at me in disbelief. However, before I could go on a sudden noise frightens me. Looking around I see Impmon stirring, and he opens his eyes and sits up instantly looking around franticly. "Wh-what happened!? Where am I?! What's going on!?!?" He says, looking around at everyone with fear in his eyes.

Immediately Lopmon and MarineAngemon leave there places with their partners and go to try and sedate him. "Impmon… listen- everything's okay! We're all alright." Lopmon says calmly grabbing his shoulders and staring him in the eyes.

"Yeah, our base was able to survive by using your method of blowing out the roofs!" MarineAngemon says in his infamous squeaky voice.

"Yes, bases Two-one-five, Thirty-two, and eighteen we're able to escape from their holdings and make it out alive. Unfortunately, all the areas surrounding the bases are the Valley of the Shadows boundaries. On the positive side, this made it easy to regroup the bases together on the ground level." Guardromon says in his mechanical and statistical voice.

Impmon's nerves calm, but he is still breathing heavy as he tries to grasps all that's being delivered to him at one time. I reap the reward of this knowledge and let it all sink in as I try and comprehend what exactly is happening. The image of Rika bursts into my mind again and I'm reminded of what I was trying to say before Impmon stirred and so I take this sudden silence to my advantage and clear my throat to draw attention to myself. "Egghm… Umm, as I was trying to say. We need to go to sleep."

The others now give disgusted facial expressions at this absurd suggestion. I feel their disapproval in their stares, but I am adamant in my stance. They'll understand when I explain. "Please… guys… just let me explain!" I plead with them.

"Lopmon… MarineAngemon," I say, and crouch next to them, "get Suzy out of here." I say to them, trying to preserve her innocence throughout this whole situation. She's not even suppose to be here, and if Henry really is possessed… than he won't do anything to try and protect her if he ever comes back around.

They nod and Lopmon runs and whispers something into Suzy's ear and she becomes immediately ecstatic. She jumps up from the floor and chases after Lopmon who took off almost as soon as she got done whispering whatever it was into her ear and MarineAngemon chases after Suzy. I watch them run away for a bit and then turn my attention to the others, "Well, I know you guys think I'm crazy but you need to listen to me… please!" I beg.

They calm down and seem content with listening to me speak before asking their thousand questions. I pause a moment before starting, embracing this moment of swift power of telling a story, "Well… after Gallantmon and I stopped the Darkness from advancing further into base two-one-five, obviously you all know that I passed out. When I passed out… I had a dream."

I see a few shuffles of feet out of the corner of my eye, as Kazu and Kenta take seats on the dirt ground of the desert. "I… I dreamt I was in a plain field… with Rika." I said and I saw everyone begin to look to one another looking for where I was going with this. "She… she talked to me about what's going on in the outside world. It was like… I was in an inner reality inside of my dream." I said, looking to reassure them all the while realizing the absurdity of what I was saying.

"I don't know how… I don't know why… but that's what happened. She told me that the real her is trapped inside… inside the _dark_ her." I said reluctantly as the strangeness of my speech grew with every sentence.

"And the same with Henry and Ryo. They're all being controlled by the dark versions of themselves." I said, and searched franticly for reassurance and found it! "Impmon! You told us when you first found us, or we first found you or whatever that your bases sensors had told you that someone in our group had been possessed by the Darkness, and then they took off the night before we came into the base. Well… it wasn't just one. It was all of them!" I said, excited that my point was beginning to take shape.

Impmon looked up at me with glazed eyes and an open mouth. Perhaps because he was being overwhelmed with so much at one point, perhaps because he's worn out, perhaps at the realization of what I'm saying. I turned away from him and looked around the group in a panic looking for some source of recognition, but decided to go on. "She… she told me that they were attacked and became possessed by the Darkness in… in…" I trailed off as I searched desperately for the words she used to describe where they had been… its just beyond me… I can't remember… damn it! No! No! N-

_"__A strange world caught between the digital world and the real world."_Says a strangely familiar Scottish voice.

"That's it! She told me that they were attacked and became possessed by the Darkness in 'a strange world caught between the digital world and the real world.' " I repeat her verbatim.

I look around, expecting them all to give looks of acknowledgement and understand exactly what I'm talking about… but no such revelations come. Just as I begin to dread having to defend my absurd claim again I hear a gasp. I turn to Jeri and she too now has glazed eyes and her mouth hangs open like a window. I look at her with an almost greedy smile and nod my head as she comes to grips with what I was saying. "They were possessed by the Darkness! That… that's it! Oh my God… oh my God, Rika! Oh my…" she trails off.

"No! What… what's wrong!? What happened?!?" I say falling to the ground next to her and grabbing her by the shoulders and shake her insanely.

"When… when we landed in the digital world… in that beach area or desert or whatever… we couldn't find any of them at first. In fact… we found Suzy before we found them, and then… we just found them lying in the sand unconscious! And Rika… she… she was so different. Her hair was darker… and it seemed dead… and she looked pale… and… and… and she had these rings around her eyes that scared me." She admitted.

Suddenly images of those rings flashed in my mind. They haunted me for the second but only for the second. "So… so you know it, then? They were possessed by the Darkness when you guys were wherever you were… but… you must have not been in the digital world… unless… unless they landed somewhere else first, became possessed, and then transferred to your part of the digital world!" I said enthusiastically… these revelations were making the puzzle come together.

"NO!" I hear someone yell.

I turn and Kazu is on one knee as he looks at me intently. "No! We weren't in the digital world! Rika said it herself! When we were in that weird world or whatever she said it herself! She _told_ us that we weren't in the digital world! Kenta!" he said, turning to his friend. "Don't you remember? You asked her how she knew and she snapped at you about how we couldn't see Takato anywhere." Kazu said confidently.

Kenta nodded violently in realization, "That's right! She did! And then she said we definitely not in the digital world. Then she touched the light and we got teleported here!"

I smiled and licked my lips and stood up as we all polled our information together to realize what had happened. But something tagged at me, "But wait… why didn't you guys tell me about any of this before?" I asked.

They all seemed stumped at this question. A moment of silence fell over us as they tried to remember why they would leave out such highly important information out. Why… why would this slip right through the cracks and just get ignored? If only I had been with them! Then I would know exactly where they were and know exactly what had happened! Instead I got sent to the Valley of the Shadows… and that damn BlackAugumon took me in and got rid of me… that bastard! Urgh! Why couldn't I kill him!? Why couldn't I just finish him off as BlackWargreymon and make him pay for deceiving me! Ugh! WHY!? That stupid little, two footed talking dragon that played with my heartstrings with all of his stupid b-s about this and that about the Darkness in his poetic Scott…

_"It takes its origin from a place caught between our world, and the other world… which, I guess… is your world."_

"Oh… my… God." I said out loud, breaking the silence.

Everyone turned to me with waiting expressions. "What? What is it Takato?" Jeri asks me.

I swallowed deeply and felt a cold swear sweep over me. "When I was with BlackAugumon in the Valley of the Shadows… he told me… he told me about the Darkness and what it had done and… where it was born." I said and paused to let it sink in.

They looked up at me with open mouths and waited for me to continue, "And he… he said that it was born in the same place that Rika said you guys were attacked."

The others looked at me with disbelief, as it sent shockwaves throughout their systems. "How… how could this be? How could that stupid desert or wherever the hell we were be such a trap!? And how did we get there!?!" Jeri nearly screams in agony.

Suzy stops playing at this and walks over to and joins the group. "You mean the beach?" she asks us.

"No, Suzy. It wasn't a beach. We thought it was, but we can see now that it obviously wasn't." Jeri says in anger.

"No! It _was_ a beach! I know! I saw the water!" she says feebly, but confidently as she defends her case.

Suddenly everything stops. Thought processes. Thought itself. Movement. Talking. Breathing. The digital world. Even time seems to stand still as the whole universe revolves around this little girls words. "What did you just say!?" Impmon finally says.

"I did! I saw the water! And I know it was a beach because only the beach has **that** much water!" she says smiling.

I fall to my knees and crawl over to her. "Suzy… what exactly _did_ you see!?" I say slowly.

"I told you! I saw water! Lots and lots of water! And… eghm," she pauses, obviously fighting herself to say something else.

"Suzy… when did you see this?" Kazu asks her.

"When I was exploring!" she said happily.

"Oh my God… I forgot you had been missing!" Jeri says quietly, but in the silence it sounded a hundred times louder.

"I got it! I know why we didn't talk about where we were!" Kenta says abruptly.

All eyes turn to him, "We didn't talk about it because Rika wouldn't let us! Jeri- don't you remember? You were going to tell Takato about it and then Rika saw Renamon and well… it didn't come back up!" he says.

This sends a shockwave through Jeri as she falls backwards from her sitting position onto her back and looks straight up towards the sky. "How could we screw up so badly? It's like the Darkness set the perfect trap for us! It's like it's 8 steps ahead of us! We can't even get started without it already countering with 7 different ways to get us to misstep. It had control of our best friends before we even found them, and then it had us keep away from the important simple facts of where we were. And then they had us self-destruct by splitting us up and oh my God, Takato, they attacked you personally with Rika… and… and they took Renamon… and then they chased us down to our hiding place. Oh my God…" she trails off finally, and no one dares say anything. No one even dares to breathe.

After a few more moments of deathly silence, Kazu finally speaks. "Suzy… tell me about the water that you saw… was there anything… _different_ about it?"

She pauses again; clearly this must have been what she had been hiding. "Well… it wasn't blue water… It was all black…-"

"I KNEW IT!" Kazu screams.

We all turn to him in shock. "What! You knew what!?" I yell at him, maddened by this sudden outburst.

"Well… Digimon was just a TV show in our world… until Takato and Henry and Rika found Guilmon, Terriermon, and Renamon, then it all became real. So I guess… everything that happened in the show must have somewhat, in principle, exist. In fact, for all we know, everything in the show might have been real things that **actually** happened!" he says.

"Okay, and?" Jeri implored him to go on.

"AND… well, if, in principle, everything that happened or 'existed' in the show actually happened or exists… then… anything and everything we watched on the show is real. That means… a world caught between our world and the digital world… it's… it's… it's the Dark Ocean World! The place where Kari was trapped in… where Ken's digivice was changed to the Dark D3… the place we were… the same place where all of Kari's nightmares and fears came true… all of it… real. We were in the Dark Ocean World!" he ends his epiphany.

I feel as if the whole world comes crashing around us… again. Everything comes together. All of it… ALL of it makes sense. All of it adds up. The plot is no longer thickening… but thinning. The pieces of the puzzle are finally being put into place… it's all coming together. It all makes sense.

"Takatomon…" I hear faintly.

I turn, and Guilmon is standing a few feet away from our group. He seems a bit gaunt… but he stands tall on his hind legs. "The Darkness is coming for all of us again." He says.

My mouth hangs open and I turn and look around at everyone. There seems to be an unspoken acceptance of what has just gone on. All that we've just discovered will do us no good if we don't survive this next attack. "Impmon… you ready to go another 12 rounds?" I say.

"I don't know what 12 rounds are… but I certainly am ready to fight." He responds.

I smile realizing he wouldn't recognize the real world allusion. "Then let's do it."

I turn to everyone and open my mouth to say something… but no words come out and I just smile and start walking towards Guilmon. "C'mon, Guilmon. It's time to go back to battle."

He waits for me to pass him and then he begins to follow me, and I hear everyone of the group slowly follow me in suit… I feel like the war army general I am.

But am I leading my troops into victory… or into another Darkness trap? We're about to find out.

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A/N: I appreciate everyone who has been loyal and faithful to this story and I'm glad you all are reading. I know you all want to kill me for not updating… but you may all be getting the end of Promise you've all be faithfully following for the last year and some odd amount of time. This chapter was a revelation chapter as the characters were coming to grips with the sad truth that you the readers have had a keen insight to since all the back to when they WERE in the Dark Ocean World. I believe I've been trying to convince you all to keep good attention to all the little details and to all the little things whether they were their directly (Suzy's exploration in Wake Me Up Inside) or indirectly (Dark Rika cutting Jeri off Organized Chaos before she could tell them about where they were) stated. In reference to the title, Promise is being broken down into Two Acts. The first act is what you've already read… and this is the second act. Enjoy. Anyway, so me updating Promise might become more of a regular occurrence because of my wonderful girlfriend, Rachel. I told her about the stories and she read Autumn Leaves and well… she started reading Promise and told me I had better start updating again because she's hooked on it now. So yeah… I love you, Rachel. : Alright, I'm gonna peace out. And oh yeah, thank you again all for being so loyal to this wonderful story. I love you all.

Love Always. Rukato Forever.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"

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	14. The Unsung Hero

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A/N: Here we go… I hope you all like this next chapter because I've had the idea for it for about 8 months now. Enjoy. Love and be loved. Read… and review!  
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The Unsung Hero

With courage in his blood, and a fire in his stare, Takato Matsuda walked boldly towards the area where the army of digimon on his side was waiting. They did not smile at him but gave grim looks as their approaching general made his way towards the group. On the other hand, he had no bright grin on his face either, so there was not much lost in the grave situation. As he drew closer, the crowd parted partially to make way for him and his fellow digidestine. He walked past the rows and rows of digimon that seemed to go on forever and he seemed to begin to think so, just as he came to clearing and he was alone… walking into the center of the entire crowd- a large sum of what he surmised to be about three THOUSAND digital monsters… all awaiting his command. He turned around, but continued walking backwards into the center of the circle the mob had formed and watched as his fellow digidestine and their partners stop at the fringes and stood amongst the crowd, as the path that had been cleared for him closed up. He turned back around and walked normal and saw a rather odd rock formation sitting in the middle of the circle… rather, it was more of a pillar. Takato ran forward and took a single gliding step and got one of his feet on the rock, and with his forward momentum, was able to get both on. He now turned on spot and looked around at his fellow warriors in war, and could not help but think they were doomed to be part of a massacre. He then looked ahead to the 'walls' or 'boundaries' that separated the desert from the Valley of the Shadows. They were simply that- walls. They were black, almost transparent _walls_ that stretched from the desert floor straight up into the sky for as far as the eye could see. Maybe 'wall' isn't quite the word for them… no. Rather… a _veil_… or a _curtain_. Only one thing was for sure about them at this point- they separated _life . . ._ from _death_.

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_"Curtains of war. Let them be drawn… let them be drawn."_ I said to myself.

I looked around once more at this absurd surrounding of Digimon… all of them waiting on my command. All of them catering to my whim. All of them under my power… all of them under my responsibility. We only had a short while before we would surely have to go into battle against the Darkness, yet I felt compelled by the masses to say something. These thousand eyes watching seemed to call for me to speak… and I would answer.

"There aren't enough of us! We need more!" A strange voice yelled from the crowd as heads turned towards the creator and I could feel the situation grow tenser.

I looked to the ground for a second to think of the words to say, but they seemed to flow from some unknown passage within me, almost as if they had been waiting for me to be in this situation my entire life, "What's he that wishes so?" I said with force, so as to be sure that all would hear my carrying voice. And an Ogremon- simply put an ogre-monster- slipped through the crowd and raised his spiked-club.

"My cousin Ogremon? No, my fair cousin: If we are destined to die at the hands of the Darkness, than surely our numbers are **more** than enough to serve what once was the digital world." I hollered to Ogremon, with the intention for everyone to hear.

"BUT…" I yelled louder over the crowd as I tried to gather steam, "If we are destined to live… the less people whom I wish to stand by and share the honor with."

There seemed to be a hushed agreement amongst the army as they all grumbled their own specific agreements, and it was rather loud, not surprising. I capitalized on my momentum, "By God's will- Ogremon, never wish one mon more!" I yelled and the army reacted with yells of approval and agreement. "I tell you… I do not seek gold, nor money, nor if someone were to absorb my data! These stupid and material things are worth nothing me! But if it is a sin to lust for honor and glory… than I am the most sinful being alive!"

Once again, the army shouted with approval and agreement at my statement. I could feel the power surging through my body. I could feel it. "No! No, Ogremon! Wish not one digimon more! I will **never** give up the honor! I could **never** give up the glory of victory to any other being! Just as no other being would offer the chance of glory to me neither!" I screamed, the power flowing through my every vein.

"No! Instead, scream it from every mountain top, my good friend, Ogremon!" I yelled, jumping down from my rock and raising my fist, as the army almost exploded with overwhelming approval. "Let it be known- that any digimon that has no stomach… no gut for this battle… leave now and let it be well known of his departure! Let all digimon know of his leaving and all shake his hand on his way out—for he feels we are meant to die. Let him shake every hand that he predicts to die. I would never die in his presence, that digimon or person who is afraid of dying in mine." I yelled with force as I jumped back onto the stone, lowering my fist to my side.

I looked around and breathed in full breath of desert air. I continued my speech with more calm now, as I came to not a whisper, but certainly not the yell I had been speaking with, "Today… today is the feast of Saint Jane." I made up, "and everyone who lives to fight tomorrow after today, will become fully aware and made to be aroused when any other digimon should mention the name of Jane." I continued building upon my improvisation as the crowd grew more and more supportive with each sentence. With each word.

"Anyone of you who lives through today, will every year for the rest of your digital lives be well aware and alert your fellow Mon, and tell them, 'Tomorrow… is the feast of Saint Jane.' And then will he show his scars, and tell his story of near deletion and snatching life from the jaws of death, and tell his fellow mon, 'These wounds and stories… I had on Saint Jane's Day.' " I went on, with the crowd ready to explode into pandemonium.

"Old digimon forget; but all shall be forgot, but you who live through today will remember, with advantages, what amazing victories you accomplished that day. Then, one day, will our names be familiar in the mouths of all future generation of digimon, and tamers and digidestine… Takato Matsuda, Jeri Katou, Kazu Shioda, Kenta Kitagawa, Impmon and Gallantmon. They will forever be remembered in their minds!" I yelled out triumphantly.

"This story shall the good digimon father teacher his son, and Saint Jane's day will never go by, from this day forth to the end of the world!" I screamed with so much velocity and strength that I was glad that the army exploded with approval for I lost my breath for the moment.

I paused a few moments and waited for the entire army's excitement to come to a halt. The screams of agreement lasted half a minute, but I didn't feel that I needed any of that time to go on with my speech. I seemed to know exactly where it was going. When finally all noise had stopped, I paused, looking down at my feet, and returned my gaze to the crowd, and started out quietly. "But we in it shall be remembered… we few… we happy few… we band of brothers…" I said with quiet joy as I almost whispered this to the crowd, and I felt tears roll down my eyes. The image was so clear. Riding off into battle against the Darkness and returning victorious with Rika in my arms and a smile on her face. It was shattering how wonderful the image was. But I knew this army needed me to be strong. "For he today that sheds his blood with me, shall be my brother!"

"Even the worst of you digimon, known for your evil and corruption in the past… this battle will calm you and create you anew. And all digimon who are away now… refusing to fight with us—afraid of death, shall think themselves cursed that they were not here! And will, in truth, cower away and hold their mon-hood cheap… when ANY of you here SPEAKS…" I paused as the rowdy army seemed to be deafeningly silent in anticipation, "THAT FOUGHT WITH US UPON SAINT JANE'S DAY!!"

_Boom._ The entire army exploded with devastating approval at my speech. The moment I had finished my speech the entire crowd of digimon exploded into a frenzy of excitement and many of them shouted their approval, while others took to the skies in enthusiasm. Many made insane howls of bestiality, showing the pleasure my call for war had brought upon their animalistic personalities, and for some, the ferocious monster that lay dormant inside them. A massacre… yes… this would be a massacre. But not the same kind I had thought it would be before I took the stand. Now **we** would be the one massacring. "Go now! All of you! Into battle… and fight for your right to remember Saint Jane's Day!" I screamed, and the entire army stopped for me.

"Let any digimon be deleted who doubts Takato now!" Ogremon screamed out.

"Do you no longer wish more help, Ogremon?" I yelled to him, and the world stood still a few seconds as I stared at him a good 30 yards away.

"If it was the Creators will, than I believe you and I would alone win this battle!" he screamed back, and I took it that 'the Creator' was 'God' to these digimon.

"Why… now you have unwished three thousand digimon, Ogremon. Which I prefer much more than to wish just one to our army. May the Creator be with you all!" I screamed and the entire army exploded tenfold!

I look over towards Guilmon and the rest. Kazu stares off into the distance, obviously detached from himself, while Jeri smiles on admiringly, and Kenta seems to be acting out of character once again as he is turned around pumping his fist in exhilaration. Suzy clutches onto Lopmon, trying to prevent her from joining her fellow digimon from celebrating her new found radical animalistic nature. Guardromon stares off towards me with a volatile expression on his face, and I feel as if my message has hit him possibly the hardest as he realizes that he must abandon his fears and worries and begin to fight his right to hold glory and honor, and MarineAngemon is nowhere in sight, which may or may not be a good thing? I stare Guilmon in the eye and he seems to read my mind.

He runs forward and I take a step backwards with one foot, bend the other foot's leg and start my own sprint towards him. Our bodies, although separated, glow with a red aurora and the tingling sensation flows through my veins. I feel myself lifted off my feet and our bodies involuntarily fly at one another. The tingling sensation overruns me and then it is gone, as quickly as it had come. I open my eyes, and once again, I am Gallantmon. The crowd grows quieter… yet I don't believe I could ever silence them again, the same way they were while I was speaking. However, I attempt to shout over the adrenaline flowing in the air, "Rejoice no more! May all those who desire to fight for love and justice in this Digital World join me in my march towards our battle against the Darkness!" I called out, and the mob explodes once again. I take two running steps and then jump as far and high as I can and soar through the desert air. I land not far from outside of the circle of the crowd, and turn on spot. The army begins to rush towards me, as those who are closest brush past my legs and those who fly soar past my head and shoulders. I'm not concerned about where the Darkness is planning on attacking from… we're not giving them the luxury of choosing where they want to attack from… we're taking what's ours. "CURTAINS OF WAR!" I scream above all else. "Let them be drawn… let them be drawn!"

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Watching as everything went on around me, I felt almost electrified at how penetrating the atmosphere had become. It punctured my lungs and assaulted my breathe. The war torn land was now so vibrant and alive that it was almost frightened at how revitalized it had become! I stared out into space, yet I could find no more vacant spaces where there was no object or digimon to catch my attention. This was a frenzy of animalistic reactions, the likes of which I had never before witnessed. This was truly it… this is where we turn this war around and make the Darkness pay for its violation of the digital world. I could feel the momentum shifting to our side as our forces began to rally around Gallantmon. I watched as many of them rushed past him and plenty of others flew past him at his outcry for raising the curtains of war. He stood proudly watching them all charge past him headed straight for the Darkness Walls, and then turned and took a look towards us digidestine. I looked up at him in wonder and awe, as the mammoth of a digimon stared me down… his stare seemed to be unnerving as I lost my spine for a second. He nodded at us and then turned around and took off to follow the back as they charged towards battle. "Well… I guess we should follow them." Jeri said from somewhere near by.

"YEAH! LET'S KICK SOME ASS!" Kenta screamed and then jumped up and grabbed the foot of a low flying devil's angel AKA a Devidramon. The six winged, eight eyed, giant beast didn't even seem to notice that it had an unwanted passenger, nor, I'm sure, would it care, considering everyone was fighting for the same goal.

I turned towards my partner, "C'mon, Guardromon, let's go… err… to steal Kenta's words… kick some ass."

He nodded and turned around and bent down. I climbed on his back, and I watched Suzy crawl onto his shoulder with Lopmon still struggling to break free under her, I'm sure, impossibly tight grip. Once she was on his shoulder, and Lopmon was firmly secured, I felt Guardromon begin to shake a little, and the rocket boosters on his back became warm under my legs and vibrated a little. Uh-oh… I guess I better be ready to take off. Jeri watched as Impmon digivolved to Beezlemon, and then she too climbed onto his back. He, however, immediately took flight, and with quite ease. Gee, I wish-

"OH SHIT!" I screamed as I suddenly felt myself thrust forward as the rocket boosters took off. I could see Lopmon begin to slip out of Suzy's grasp and I tried to lift my right arm off of the back of Guardromon. However, as I went to lift my hand off his back the pressure of moving at rocket speed pinned my arm to his metallic back. Suzy was having a hard enough time holding on herself, and to try and keep Lopmon pinned down as well must be impossible. I watched as Lopmon slowly began to slip from her grasp and-

"NO!" I screamed.

Suzy let go and both went flying backwards! I turned my head as far and fast as I could and watched as they quickly faded away! _'No! How can this be! What are we gonna do now!?'_

Suddenly, a bright light appears and I squint my eyes… what on earth-

A circus of light explodes and the next thing I know, Antylamon is soaring next to us, stride for stride with Suzy coupled in her arms. My look of horror is wiped away and I smile as I stare up at the rabbit digimon holding Suzy in her arms. It's been so long since I've seen Anytlomon that she looks different. I giant of a digimon, she wears the formal shirt of a human that almost looks like a button up suit for a man, and the rest of her body is a brownish grey, as her rabbit like features are displayed in her face and in the fact that she has two ears, but the ears are sharp and pointed, not floppy and loose like Lopmon or Terriermon's ears.

The entire scene was incredible, as I watched Antylamon stride next to Guardromon and myself. I look ahead to where we were headed and these rocket boosters were clearly showing a lack of speed. I could see much of the army further in front of us, and it occurred to me that we might not get there in time for the battle to start. I turned towards Antylamon and yelled with as much force as I could, "We won't make it in time!"

Suzy looks over towards Guardromon and myself and then up to Antylamon, and it seemed as if Antylamon knew exactly what she was thinking. Antylamon glided to her left and scooped Guardromon and me up in one swoop and we were suddenly on a much faster pace towards our battle, but it wasn't fast enough for my tastes. I looked up at the giant Rabbit digimon and yelled out, "Can you go any faster!?"

Antylamon looks down at me and gives a strange smile. She looks away and I look forward and the next thing I know I can **feel** her acceleration as the wind in my face is multiplied tremendously. I can see the army getting closer and closer with each thundering step as Antylamon takes great flight and I know this is will be our battle to win.

I look over to Guardromon and I can't help but notice a depressed look on his face. I turned in Antylamon's coupled hands so that I was no longer staring at the army, and now faced him. "What's wrong, Big Guy?" I asked.

He shook his head to not answer, and I moved next to him. I got as close to where, I guess his ears _would_ have been, and said, "What's wrong?"

He gave a sigh, and leaned next to me, "I am feeling obsolete, Kazu."

"Why would you feel obsolete!?" I asked him rather shocked.

He gave another sigh and through the howling wind of Antylamon's rapid run, he replied, "I was not fast enough for us to get to the battle in time… I have done nothing to aide this war since the Darkness took over the underground bases… and I could do nothing to help Gallantmon and Beezlemon in their battle against BlackWargreymon and ChaosJustimon."

I sat quietly for a few seconds, and searched for the words to say, yet I couldn't find any. How do you tell the person you care so much about that it's okay that they can't help save their own world? "Guardromon… you're not expected to-"

"I know I'm not expected to help, but I **have** to!" he says aggressively to me.

"Well… I don't know what to tell you. Just kill off as many Darkness Digimon as you can, without-"

_**CRASH!**_ Thunder and lightening shook us, and I was nearly blinded as Antylamon came crashing down! Guardromon quickly wrapped Suzy and I in his mechanical arms and flew out of our safe zone. We flew high into the air, and as he turned around I was shocked at the sight below! Antylamon was on the ground! She had been blind-sided by someone or something! "Guardian Barrage!"

Guardromon's missiles took flight from every orifice on his body and headed straight for what I could not see under a large cloud of smoke. I stared down and suddenly the smoke was flushed away as a Devimon flew up towards us! Guardromon flew backwards a little and he just barely avoided being tackled by the monster! "Guardian Barrage!" he screamed again and the attacks took flight. However, suddenly, we were being overshadowed. I turned my body to look behind us and I was stunned at the sight. A digimon I had never seen before… a Dark… a DarkAngimon!

The angel digimon that had been the opposite of Devimon- literally the devil digimon- was now… Dark? His palm was raised slightly over us, and Guardromon had no idea! He was watching his attack blow Devimon apart! "Guardromon! Watch out be-"

DarkAngemon's hand came crashing down on Guardromon and we were all flung downwards! I felt weak and helpless as I fell from the sky and my life flashed before my eyes… I remembered nothing of the tamers… I remembered nothing of Guardromon… I remembered nothing of the Darkness or speech… or even of Takato or anyone of the gang… I simply remembered seeing a shining card dwindle above me… it was catching the light from my desk lamp and it shone brightly. I grabbed it and stared at the pretty Birdramon card in it's holographic glory! It made my eyes smile at its beauty… my first card… my first true love… a card game…

I returned to the real world and I felt my body being hurtled towards the ground and I looked at the battle below… the Darkness was defeating us… we would lose… and I would di-

I felt a rush of wind and I felt the weightlessness of falling lifted as I found myself in fuzzy, soft arms. I looked up and saw Antylamon flying away. She was alright… I was alright… we were alright. I looked back to where Guardromon was and he was being assaulted by both Devimon and DarkAngemon! "Antylamon! We have to go back! Guardromon is…"

"I know… hold on!" She yelled down to me, and all of a sudden, I felt motion stop as she planted her foot on something hard! I looked down to see the data of some Darkness digimon begin to flow freely and we began to charge back the other way!

Antylamon took to the sky, and threw me up and away and once again I felt weightless gravity begin to hurtle back to the digital earth! "BUNNY BLADE!"

I tried to flip my falling body around to see and just barely caught a glimpse of Antylamon firing blades of pink energy at the Devimon and DarkAngemon. Then, her body began to move towards me. She was upon me in a second and I was once again safe in her rabbit arms. I looked up to the two angels disintegrating into data, and we flew at them as Antylamon absorbed their data. She came crashing to the ground, right into the midst of the battle and Guardromon came crashing down as well right behind her. Antylamon lifted her one long arm up and then side swiped a dozen or so Darkness digimon. They all went flying backwards, and she then put me down and yelled out once again, "Bunny Blade!"

This time, as I predicted, her arms turned to pink blades and she began to slice through her opponents like butter! I turned and saw Guardromon valiantly guarding Suzy away from a ChaosLeomon. I looked around for more action and-

A Puppetmon was running right at me! I thought to move away… to try to avoid him… but I was so numbed by everything that I felt nothing… and moved nothing! He jumped into the air and raised his metal mallet over his head, to crush me into the ground when something green wrapped around his waist, and then another four or five green lines lassoed him. "Guardian Barrage!" I turned and saw Guardromon firing blasts at the stationary digimon, while scooping Suzy up and quickly flying towards me. The blasts exploded only a few feet from me, but Guardromon swept me up, stuck out his arm and the entire data of the Puppetmon was gathered up by his arm. I looked back and saw a Rosemon smiling at me, her ivy vines being the green lines that saved me! I opened my mouth to try and scream my thanks but then she was stabbed from behind by a Piedmon, who ripped her apart and stole her data in a moment.

I turned around and saw a massive battle going on further up ahead. Three WereGarurumon were trying to topple a Machinedramon! They were running all over his massive body and he foolishly was pointing his shooting arm at himself, until firing into himself and was obliterated into millions of pieces of data that were immediately scooped up by the three ultimate level digimon. I looked to the skies to see Airdramons attacking one another. Briefly… I knew not who was on which side. I knew no reason for this terrible struggle to be going on. This… was pointless murder! I look ahead to where Guardromon was flying us and the next thing I saw was a massive skull claw reaching into the ground and flinging us into the more volatile air. Somehow Guardromon hung onto both Suzy and me but before we could come to level view I heard "Dark Shot!" and just as Guardromon was coming into balance the blow struck us hard and we went flying backwards, headed for the ground again!

I felt my body go flying into a different direction of Guardromon and Suzy. I hit the desert sand with incredible force! I felt my body singe with passionate pain. I stood up immediately though… this was no time to dawdle on pain. I saw a Sword on the ground and picked it up… I didn't know whose it was but I didn't care! I turned on spot and saw an Ogremon running at me, yelling hoarsely and waving his spiked club in the air. "WAHAHAAAAAAAA!" He screamed at me his club flying around like a flag in wild wind.

I raised my lone sword over my shoulder and brought it into a fighting position… any second now he'd be upon me… three… two… one…!

I brought the sword down with as much force and speed as I could in a driving motion as I slung it down from on my shoulder into the sand. For a second… he stared at me with anger and fury about to blow inside of him as he stood only two feet from me, his club ready to come crashing down upon me. He smiled and shook his head as the sword was flung from its lodged place in his head. He took a step towards me. I looked up at this monster as he towered over me, face-to-face, as he smiled with razor sharp teeth right in my face. I could feel his breath slapping me in the face as the odor was too strong to explain. "Stupid human…" he said, and raised his club further up, ready to crush me.

I felt all my courage leave me as death was surely imminent now. I bowed my head down as the only motion I could think to carry out happened involuntarily. I ducked under him as he brought his club down into the desert floor and I sneaked out from between his legs. I grabbed the sword that he had just shook away as quickly as I could and turned around just in time to see him to start to turn his head towards me. Before he had a chance to react I drove the sword into his back as deep as it would go… the top of the handle driven into the base of his back. He fell to his knees and turned around to face me and fell backwards into the ground—driving the sword even deeper into him! He screamed in agony and I hadn't a second to delay. I moved forward and dislodged his club from the ground an move to in front of him. "Wh-What are you doing!?" He screamed at me.

I raised the club as high above my head as possible and brought it crashing down into his monster body. Immediately blood splattered my face, clothes, and my entire body as well as the club. "YOU MONSTER!" he screamed at me, his body now in shambles.

I brought the club up again… it felt so good to do it the first time… I wanted that feeling again. I brought the towering club back down upon him, this time more fluids hitting me clothes, and less splattering my face. Yes. Yes. Yes! YES!

I brought the club up again and smashed him in again… and again—each time pushing the sword further into the ground and further out of his body, causing him more and more pain with each blow. This was pay back for all the digimon who had died defending me already! "Die… Die… DIE!" I screamed at the digital monster as I repeated my beating of him. After another three or four smashes, however, he exploded and his data surrounded me. The club was still in my hands… and the sword was still covered in blood and driven deep into the ground… but I was no longer attacking anything. I wanted more.

I turned to face my next victim and watched a Gotsumon go running off. Another, directly in front of me, stood up and looked like he was ready to attack. I took one swing at him as if he were a golf ball and my club my driver and he disintergrated immediately into data.

"Yes! Yes! More! MORE!" I screamed and began to run after any other challengers who presented themselves.

A RedVegimon came flying at me and I simply swatted him away with my weapon and he too was data right away. I saw a WereGarurumon doing battle with his reciprocal- a DarkWereGarurumon and I decided to lend a helping hand. As I got closer the DarkWereGarurumon knocked the other one down and away and I ran as I got closer, but just as I was about to attack him he turned to me, his werewolf features more present than ever, his teeth dark yellow, his breath devastating, "**RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!**" he screamed in my face.

I felt the club connect with his skull and the screaming stopped but he stopped me in my tracks. The WereGarurumon he had been fighting pounced on his fallen foe and ripped him to shreds, collecting his data before taking off for another battle. I stood alone, gasping for air… and began to look around for another challenger when I saw it.

Guardromon, standing in front of a cowering Suzy, taking a thorough beating from a couple of Myotismon! They were depressing his guard against them with their red whips, laughing at his petty attempt to save the youngest digidestine. It didn't look like he had much left in him… it looked like… it looked like he was almost defeated… _'Guardromon… no… you can't go!'_

Suddenly, he fell to the ground and fell face first into the desert sand, as the Myotismon continued to whip him. "No… NOOOOOOO!" I screamed.

_'HOW DARE THEY?! HOW DARE THEY ATTACK HIM AND LAUGH AT HIS DEFENDING SUZY!?'_ I ran full out towards them, brandishing my Ogremon club and screamed out, "DDDDDDDDDDDDDIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!!"

They turned their attention towards me as I threw my club at them in a spinning sideways motion. It plowed through both of them and they disintergrated into data, as did the club the moment it hit the ground.

How could they do that him!? How dare they attack Guardromon?! I ran to his side and rolled him over as Suzy came forward to look over his defeated body. "Guardromon… please… talk to me!" I said in a defeated voice. As tears began to trickle down my cheeks. The lights on his body were either flickering… or had already gone out! Everything I ever knew about the machine digimon was disappearing right in front of me… everything I had learned about digital brutality and murder in the last few minutes evaporated while I stared down at my partner's body. How… how could he go?! How could he be defeated… he was so strong! We had been through so much when the D-Reaper was around… we had been through so much even before that… how… how could this be… "Ka-Kazu?"

_'No!' _"Guardromon… are you…"  
"Kazu…" he said, his voice fading quickly, "There can only be one…"  
"Only one what!?" I asked, more confused than I had ever been before.  
"There can only be… be… wa-… one." He said and the lights inside his eyes went out.  
I gaped at him for a moment, "Ah… Guardromon!! Don't leave me!!"

Suddenly, a hazel brown aura surrounded us and a tingling sensation covered over me. I felt both of our bodies begin to be lifted up. "Wh-what's going on?" I said out loud, not particularly to anyone.

"You're digivolving!" Suzy yelled from the ground, and suddenly it made sense.  
The tingling sensation completely overcame me and suddenly… I felt it.

A light over ran me and I blinked. When I re-opened my eyes. I was kneeling on the dessert floor. I began to get up, and I could tell immediately that I was towering higher and higher every second until I reached a high point. "There can only be one… I am… HiAndromon." I said out loud, proclaiming my entrance.

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I stood in the desert, towering over all my rivals. The newly arrived HiAndromon- the mega form of Guardromon. I knew my abilities right away, and looked for a target. Far off to my right I saw a large base of Darkness digimon attacking Light Digimon. I lifted my right arm up as a blast cannon slowly lifted out of its place in my mechanical arm and I shouted out, "ATOMIC RAY!"

A blast of nuclear energy erupted from the cannon and instantly blew the crowd of evil digimon to data! I smiled at this. I looked around for more enemies and far ahead, half a mile possibly, I could see Gallantmon standing about a hundred yards from BlackWargreymon as they simply stared at one another. I knew what I had to do… I turned around and scooped Suzy up from the desert floor into my hands, and cupped her against my body, as I took flight for the main battle.

As I drew closer with each thundering footstep, I felt this battle was coming closer and closer to a close. I looked around and saw many Darkness digimon running from their attackers! The aerial battle seemed to be coming to a close as well, as the Darkness digimon came crashing down into the desert floor! I looked ahead and made sure, as much as I could, to step on Darkness digimon. I saw a MetalGreymon about to trounce a Flamedramon, and I decided to take my chances that the MetalGreymon was on the Darkness's side, as I stopped and dug my cannon into the back of his head, keeping Suzy protected in the other hand. "ATOMIC RAY!" I yelled, and blew him into nothing, as I took the data and kept moving.

I saw a DarkGarurumon come flying at me and I simply whipped him away, using my cannon to knock him out and away. The two of the giants were both still standing there, waiting for something… waiting for the other to make the first move and probably the first mistake… waiting. I got closer and just as I was about to come to a crashing halt in front of them I was blindsided by a DarkTuskmon and I dropped Suzy to the ground purposely, hoping she wouldn't be hurt! We rumbled on the ground for a few moments, until we stopped and he was on top of me, his pudgy claws trying to grab my neck. His futile attempts to strangle me made me smile a bit, but I was in no mood to battle with him. I used my superior strength to move his hands out of the way, and my blast cannon emerged from my arm… pointed right at his head. "You are obsolete… Atomic Ray!" I said, and the nuclear energy blew his head off, followed by the rest of his body, and I absorbed his data.

I stood up, and ran over to where Suzy had been and- Antylamon was standing there, holding her in her arms, standing in a circle watching the two giants as well! I was relieved to see both Suzy and Antylamon safe, but I was more anxious to get to the battle. I turned to see Gallantmon now crouched in a fixed position, prepared to fight. I looked over at BlackWargreymon, however, and I could see a gleam in his eye… something he had planned. Well, to unbeknownst to him, I had a trick up my sleeve as well.

"Rrrr… AAAAAAAGHH!" Gallantmon roared, and took flight at him.

BlackWargreymon smiled and… disappeared! He reappeared where Gallantmon had been standing, as Gallantmon ended up in BlackWargreymon's original spot, with his joust lodged into the ground, unable to withdraw it, and his back to BlackWargreymon! "Game over." BlackWargreymon said, claiming victory as he began to levitate off the ground.

Gallantmon turned around hastily, and fell to the ground, his back against his weapon, and lifted his shield up, in a last ditch do-or-die attempt to save himself. Now was my time to act!  
"TERRA DE-"

"COPY PASTE!" I screamed, emerging from the crowd with my eyes blinking red as I stared at his form.

"WHAT?" BlackWargreymon yelled, confused and temporarily suspended mid-air.

I gave one last smirk of joy as the tiny red energy blast located between his hands looked nothing like what it should have in its true form. "My turn." I said arrogantly.

"TERRA DESTROYER!" I said, myself levitating off the ground and forming a huge energy ball of destruction between my arms, which were outstretched over my head just like his.

My blast took off, but as he pulled his arms down and his attack disappeared, he had no time to react before my blast was upon him and it sent him flying back! After it hurtled him another hundred yards away in the sky, it stopped moving and he began to push it back. I turned around to Gallantmon, "NOW! YOU HAVE TO DO IT NOW! ATTACK!"

He blinked a second then realized what I meant and stood up. He lifted his shield up above his head, pointed right at the Terra Destroyer and BlackWargreymon, "SHIELD OF THE JUST!" He screamed and the orange, red and yellow blast erupted and took flight.

The energy blast from his shield connected with the energy ball I had created and the two exploded! The blast a blinding mixture of white and blue and it shone very briefly before going out. Once the light was out, a shadow began to form where the light had been. Suddenly, my eyes adjusted to the change and it was BlackWargreymon! He was still floating in there in mid-air, but there was something different about him! He was… less? Abruptly, I paid more attention to his details and I could see why he seemed less. He was beaten! His entire body was covered in scars, rips in the metal gear that protected him, holes in his arms and hands, parts of his arm severely broken, some parts not even intact anymore! The horn for a 'nose' that he had was blown off only to the base of it. He floated there, above us, a beaten soldier, unsure of his next movement.

Involuntarily, I lifted my right and left arms up to the sky, pointed at him. '_Now! Let's finish him off!_' I heard Guardromon say from within me. "Okay! Here we go!" I said out loud to no one. "ATOMIC RAY!" I screamed, and nuclear blasts erupted from both of my hands. Before they could connect with him, however, he disappeared again!

"No! Where'd he go!?" I yelled out, looking around desperately, preparing to attack again. However, I looked around again and saw that almost all of the Darkness digimon had been expelled, and the ones remaining were either fighting valiantly against their Light counterparts, or running away with limited success from the hordes of Light digimon chasing them down! Could it… could it really be over? Suddenly, the boundaries of the Darkness that we had been fighting near by all along began to roll back! The battle was… over. It was over!

There remained only one BlackGreymon left fighting, as he succeeded in toppling a Cherrymon, and than ramming a MetalGreymon from behind. However, as he ran amuck trying to do as much chaos as possible he met his as a Birdramon came swooping down and toppled him. Next, a SkullGreymon, presumably on our side, lifted him over his head and tossed him up, yelling out, "Dark Shot!" and blasted the digimon into nothing but data, which, surprisingly, the SkullGreymon did not absorb, but rather, just let it disappear into nothing.

The entire army exploded into a frenzy of happiness and joy over the victory. I could hear rumbles amongst them of 'Saint Jane's Day' and I felt proud of myself for fighting so valiantly on the day. Abruptly, however, I felt as if someone had unplugged me as I grew bright hazel brown, and shrunk until I was back. Back to just Kazu.

I turned, and Guardromon was making a bed of the sand, as he almost immediately fell asleep- something that was not surprising to me considering it almost always happened to Guilmon and the other rookie digimon capable of digivolving to mega. I saw Gallantmon grow bright red, and then he de-digivolved to regular Takato and Guilmon. Guilmon, also, immediately, made a bed of the sand and seemed to pass out almost right away. Meanwhile, Takato began to jump up and down and scream out in happiness, "We did it! We did it! We did it!"

"Of course we did it! Did you doubt us at all, after your 'Saint Jane's Day' speech?" Jeri said to him, with a smirk and a look in her eyes of other-knowledge. Something she knew that I didn't.

Takato smiled bashfully, and turned to her mouthing the words, "Shut up!"  
I moved the few yards to next to Takato and asked, "What does she mean?"

He seemed shocked to see me, and immediately gave me a hug. "Kazu! Kazu! My hero! You saved my ass back there man! What the HELL was that!?" he said loudly.

"Umm… well… ya see, Guardromon and I… we matrix digivolved together into HiAndromon. So, of course, I knew exactly what my attacks were." I said, a little arrogantly. Just a little.

"Well, what the hell?! I didn't! Tell me what that effing was! That Copy and Paste attack, or whatever- that was AWESOME!"

"You mean Copy Paste. Yeah, I know! It's an attack that let's me copy my opponents attack and use it against them. I had a feeling he would try to use Terra Destroyer, and I had the advantage of him not knowing I was there. For it to work I need time to analyze it and not let them attack me while I'm trying to copy-"

"Yeah, yeah, awesome! Let's celebrate! That was the best fight I could have asked out of this army!" he said over me.

"Yeah, yeah, but Takato, what did Jeri mean? What was wrong with the speech?" I asked him sincerely.

"Oh…" he said, and dropped his voice to a whisper, "I made up that part about it being Saint Jane's day. I just knew that Saint Jane had a feast day in the summer so I used that. Don't let anyone know though!" he said with quiet urgency. I began to laugh but said "Okay."

Only Takato would be bold enough to make up a saint's feast day and use it in a pinnacle speech in rallying an army of digimon to victory. Oh wow… only Takato.

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A/N: Hello everyone! What a great chapter! At least, I thought so. So yeah, this was really something special and its kind of an important chapter in the story, whether you can believe that or not. It's gonna set us up for some other stuff along the way. Sorry it took a little longer than expected to produce. I told some people it would be up by the end of April, and it's the beginning of June. I got a little side-tracked. But anyway, I have the plans for the rest of the story and now summer is here so I should be set to make a good run with the rest of the story and I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. I know some of you are wondering how I wrote such a great speech by Takato. I had two versions- the first/original one and the one I actually used. The original sucked badly for a war speech and it was real weak. However, I got some major help from my good friend Billy on the second one. Thanks Billy! Oh, by the way, everyone of you knows who Billy is, considering Billy is a nickname for Will. I think his last name will make more sense- Will Shakespeare. Yeah. I re-wrote a famous Shakespeare speech. If you want to read it yourself its from King Henry V (King Henry V 4.3.18-67). Just look up that little bit in parentheses and it should come up on Google or any other search website. Or type in "St. Crispin's Day speech." Yeah, I had to change it so if anyone knew what speech it was I couldn't get tagged for plagiarism or any of that other fun stuff. It's really an awesome speech that you guys, I'm sure, would love to read. I took a Shakespeare course this past semester (yes, an entire course devoted to Shakespeare and his works) and my teacher called it 'the best locker room speech ever.' So yeah, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter because I know I liked writing it. Okay, peace!

Love Always. Rukato Forever.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"  
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	15. Just A Daydream

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A/N: Back by popular demand… Rika! Hahaha, just a little buzz for your eyes and ears. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter. A couple of special shout outs to two very special reviewers: Kaoru2585, and Hart for their reviews and Hart's undying faith in me. Thanks guys, it really means a lot. Love and be loved. Read… and review!  
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Just A Daydream

The moment the battle was over, there seemed to be something very different about this war. Something extravagant, and galvanizing. Something that was electrifying, and mystifying. Born out of the simple aura of victory and this new found power in HiAndromon, I can feel something changing. Yes- that's the word: 'changing.' This entire battle had come to a changing. A changing of hands. A changing of momentum. A changing of everything. We, the Light side, fighting for everything that the digital world once was, were changing. The Darkness, and its overbearing strength, power and ability over us, was changing. The dessert air gave way to changing also. Part of the land we had uncovered was green pastures! I breathed in the aroma of the new land! O what a wonderful smell it is! The wind was carrying the smell of the living land towards me, and I felt cords unplug, the familiar tingling sensation, and I was back to my red bandana and short stature. O what a beautiful smell being carried in by the winds! O the winds! Let them blow, almighty Creator, let them blow! O, the winds of change!

O for a muse of fire! We've finally gained the advantage! It's so amazing… to finally have the upper hand on this monster! So many lives… so many friends… dead. Destroyed by this monster. Destroyed by the Darkness. Our entire underground operation… gone in the wake of this beast. I had masterminded that entire operation… from its inception. I had led the rally against the Darkness… only to see it all blown away within hours of the digidestines' arrival. To think… that all it took was one slip up and the entire Digital World was under the Darkness's control.

And yet, here we are! Takato has been a savior to both this army and this cause! My entire underground fortress was lost forever by his plan… but it was worth it! And, to have his strength at least somewhat competitive with BlackWargreymon's is tremendous! Although, I doubt Gallantmon will be able to defeat him without some divine intervention… he's not nearly strong enough. But Takato's leadership has led to a great comeback, with his speech and a little help from HiAndromon, we were able to expel the Darkness… for now. We've earned our edge over the Darkness, and make no mistake… we will capitalize on it! Takato has not let me down yet, and I know he will not start now.

We can't afford for him to let us down now.

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I looked around at the pandemonium. Every one of my soldiers was celebrating like there was no tomorrow! This was wonderful! I look over my shoulder to Kazu who just seems to be so happy about his new found power, he just doesn't know what to do with himself! As I turn my head around, however, I come face-to-face with a grim Impmon (An Imp that's grim? Who would have thought it!?). However, his serious stare from the distance between us knocks the wind out of me and any hopes of celebrating are permanently suspended. I stop hopping around and stare at him. '_Politics as usual, right Impmon?_' I say to myself.

I begin to march towards him, but stop and turn around. "Kazu," I yell out. He stops staring off into the distance and turns his attention to me, "Let's go." I said and motioned him to follow me by shrugging my shoulder in the direction we were to walk in. He came quickly, and I walked in front of him, leading the way to follow Impmon.

As I closed the distance between myself and the Rookie Digimon, he began to walk away as well- looking for some privacy, I suppose. I wonder how long we'll walk before he's content with the distance between us and anyone else? I looked around as I "followed the leader" and couldn't help but remain joyful as I saw celebratory digimon running around aimlessly, excited that they had won… or are they excited that they survived? Either or, they were happy, and so was I. Unlike real war, there are no dead bodies here to count. We must simply go on a head-count of our numbers to figure how many we really lost. It is both a blessing and a curse.

Kazu and I followed Impmon another fifty yards or so before he seemed to be at last satisfied with the distance between us and all the others. He turned on spot, and Kazu took a seat on a boulder sitting near by. We three faced one another for a brief moment… we three… the leaders of the Light side… ergh, the Light… ness, I guess it would be called. The Lightness. Hmm… might need to work on- "We have the advantage."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you very much!" Kazu said, taking a bow.  
"Shut up, Kazu. Yeah, I know we have the advantage. What about it though?" I asked.  
He looked at us solemnly, "I think that we need to take advantage."

There was a silence between the three of us as I let the words sink in and take roots in my head. Take… the advantage? Images of a Dark Rika blew up into full throttle in my mind as the hatred for the Darkness grew even further into me. For the moment, I sought to annihilate it in its whole and crush it in its entirety. In my eyes, for a brief moment, it was so vile and appalling that I could not stand it. Darkness. Evil. Vile. Hatred. My beautiful angel… corrupted by this MONSTER! Darkness Rika. How could it? I can not allow for it any longer… I WILL not allow for it anymore. This is it. This is the end. This is where I say I've had enough. "Yes, let's." I said with force and a scowl.

Kazu turned sideways to look at me, and Impmon stared deeply into my eyes, but I was looking beyond him. I was staring out at the Darkness barriers. The ones standing between me and my Rika. Between me and my TRUE love. I don't want to stand here another second. I want another shot at BlackWargreymon. I wanted to throttle him. Cut his jugular- although I doubt any Digimon has a jugular, I would still settle for cutting his digital throat wide open. I want to utterly destroy him. I want to completely garrote him. I want to DESTROY him. I want the Darkness. I want it to be right here, right in front of me. I want to KILL it. I want blood. I want murder. I want-

_'I can give it all to you!'_

What? Who… who was that?

'_I can give you the power… the power to destroy BlackWargreymon. The power to fight the Darkness!'_

Wh-what!? What's going on?! Who… who's talking to me?

_'Why… It's 'me'! 'I'… am 'you'! Soon enough, though, I'll be 'me.' I'll become none other than 'you!'_

Wh-what do you mean!? Tell me who you are! RIGHT NOW!

_'A-ah-ah. Calm down. Don't you want me to help you to fight the Darkness? And save Rika?'_

Rika!? Rika! Y-yes. I… I want to save Rika. I want that more than anything! What do I have to do? Just tell me and I'll do it! What do I have to do!?

_'Just tear all the others apart. Once you're the last one standing, there won't be a problem.'_

How!? How can I do that?! I can't even beat BlackWargreymon, how am I supposed to beat him and everyone else in the Darkness' army?

_'Here. I'll give you 'power.' Then you'll be able to match even the Darkness- blow for blow.'_

Y-yes! That… that is what I want! Give me the 'power!' Do it! Do it n-

**"TAKATO!"**

"Takato!" I blink. I… I'm staring right into the eyes of Impmon. "Takato… are you ALIVE?!"

I blink again and shake my head. Wa… was that Impmon talking inside my head? Does… does HE have the power to defeat the Darkness? Is he hiding the key to victory from us? Does… no! I must be going insane! If Impmon had the power to defeat the Darkness, he would never EVER hold that from the rest of us. He… he wouldn't do something like that. He… he's on our side. I mean… he is… right? "Yeah… I'm here. Sorry."

Impmon gives me a scowl. "Well we need you more than here. We need you to help us come up with a plan. You want to take the advantage too… well, how do you suggest we do it?"

_'Attack the barriers!'_

That voice! It's… its back? Wh-what did it say? What was that? What do we need to do?

"Well? What do you suggest we do?" Impmon says, clearly getting impatient.

"I…" I stuttered. What did that voice say? Attack… attack what? Attack the bare… Attack the barriers! That's it! "I suggest we attack the barriers."

He stops for a second to think on this a moment. "What good would that do us?"

"I don't know… but do you have any better suggestions? You're not blind. You can see just as well as I can. They're rolling back with each victory we achieve. I think if we just flat out attack them… then they'll roll back even farther."

He stops a second and ponders over this thought. He mulls it over and turns it over again and again in his mind. He's agreeing. He thinks it's a good idea, but I doubt he'll ever say so. "Okay… we'll go with this plan for now. Attack tomorrow as soon as possible."

"Brilliant." I let escape my lips.  
"Guardromon and I'll be ready!" Kazu says with glee in his voice.  
"Meet again tomorrow with the remaining army at sun-up." Impmon says. "Until then… let's set up camp and rest for the night. We won a valiant battle today."  
He smiles at us, and we turn and head back to the army. Sweet dreams to us all… and hopefully whoever that was in my head will come back and give me the power to defeat the Darkness… if he hasn't already.

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I stare around at the camp base set up for the night. It took a little longer than we anticipated, but the army was now fast asleep, and the "night" time had come just after the camp fires had started up. There were about two digimon to every tent and four tents to every fire. We had some 350+ fires going, after losing a little less than 200 soldiers in the battle, and I shared a tent with my favorite person in the Digital world… Guilmon! He's fast asleep as I turn around and slink into our tent. His bulky body takes up more than half of the tent space, but I squeeze into my side of it and prepare to pass into dreamland. The thoughts still strongly linger of that voice speaking to me… telling me how to be strong. How to defeat the Darkness! The 'power!' I was so close… how could I come so close and fall apart?

I climb into bed as the thoughts of that voice still circle my head. So close! The 'power!' I almost had it… the ability to take Rika back! To have my angel back… to be with her again! I would… give… anything…… to……… have her… _again_…

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_"Ttttttttaaaaaaakkkkkkkaaaaaaaaattttooooooo. . ."_

Wh-who's there? I say to myself, unsure of where I am.

_"Ttttaaaaakkkkkaaaaatttttttoooo. . ."_

"Wh-who's there!?" I say out loud this time.

_"Takatoooo!"_

"I said… WHO'S THERE!?" I yell, opening my eyes.

"Takato!" welcomes a smiling Rika.

"Rika!" I yell, throwing my arms up and reaching out, squeezing her in my tight embrace.

"It's great to see you too, Takato." She says with every syllable hitting my ears like wonderful rain on the driest desert in any world, anywhere!

I held her in my arms for as long as I could. I never wanted to let go! She was here again… in my arms. I finally had her back again! Finally!

"Takato… you realize this is just a dream again, right?" she says.

I open my eyes and let my arms fall to my side as I stare at her. I had forgotten. I felt the pain sink in as reality became to difficult to bear. No! How could this be! "No!" I said weakly.

"It's alright! Everything's going to be alright!" she said, pulling me back into her arms. I looked down and I was shocked at the sight! It was nothing!

Literally- it was **nothing**! I looked down into a black abyss! I moved my head up and turned it around as I observed where I was. I was standing here, in her arms, in the middle of a CANYON! Far out over Rika's shoulder there was rocky land to be safely situated on. But… how do we get there! How did we get HERE!? "Don't worry, Takato. We're safe, for now." She comforts me.

"FOR NOW!?" I yell comically. "What do you mean, 'FOR NOW!?'" I yell almost laughing at this absurd understatement.

"We just are, okay! Just… trust me." She says, after searching for the right words.

I turn my head around and see another rocky desert area where we could be standing… but right now… we're suspended over a canyon with a bottomless pit below. Oh my God… why haven't I started falling yet!? "Takato… you are NOT going to fall anytime soon. As long as you keep dreaming, you'll be fine."

I look up to her, remembering that for some reason she can- "Read your mind in this world. Yeah, I know, yadda yadda yadda. Let's get onto the more important issues!" she says, cutting off my train of thought.  
"What more important issues?" I asked earnestly.  
"Your plan for fighting the Darkness… what is it?!" she asks.  
"Oh… it's… umm… it's…" and yet, for some reason, I can't remember it at all. "I… I don't remember."  
She stares at me blankly. "What do you mean you don't remember?" she asks, stunned.  
"I just-"

"Oh well! It doesn't matter! Takato… you need to know this- The Darkness is planning a sneak attack! It's going to surprise you somehow, when you least suspect it! I don't really know why, but the Dark Me is important in this one, and The Darkness itself is even talking about taking part in it!" she tells me.

The… the Darkness itself!? "Yes, Takato, the Darkness itself! Whatever entity that makes it up is taking part in this and is planning that should whatever plan A is fails, then he's gonna step in himself to clean up. He's tired of the sloppiness. He thinks that BlackWargreymon should have finished you and the rest of the Light side off long ago, in the Valley of the Shadows. He is VERY angry at his troops for not being able to overrun the underground bases when they had the chances. I guess now he's reached his breaking point with your victory yesterday! Oh, Baby, you were so brave again! I was watching the whole battle through the Dark Me's eyes!"

I smiled, but before I could take any credit or pass on any to Impmon or Kazu and HiAndromon, she kept on going, "But now… now you need to be VERY careful. Whatever you've got planned… I would scrap it, and try to come up with a better way to try and fight this battle. You need to pick your fights very carefully, and very wisely from here on out. The Darkness is out to get YOU, Takato."

What!? I thought. "Yes! It's true! He wants you dead more than anyone else!"

"But… how can he-"

"The only way I can explain him being able to know you're leading the army is through me, Henry, and Ryo. I'm sure he's not stupid and knows a Gallantmon is doing battle against his best warrior, but be real! How many Gallantmon could there possibly be in your army? Not many. Plus he knows you're with Guilmon and I'm sure BlackWargreymon is reporting a Mega-level digimon with an agenda to defeat him. There are too many factors again you, but that's not the point! You need to be careful! Keep your-"

Suddenly, however, the entire canyon and the surrounding desert areas around us got very dark and the wind picked up. Rika stopped talking and her smile faded. She turns around, and begins to walk away! But not towards the desert area surrounding the bottomless pit… but further off into the canyon! "Rika… where are you going!" I yell to her, only a few feet away.

She stops, and turns her body so that she's standing sideways to me. "All you have to do is believe in yourself."

"What do you mean, believe in myself!!" I scream back at her.

"Just believe." She replies, almost machine like, yet a faint sense of Rika laid in her voice. "If you want to follow me, you're just going to have to believe. C'mon, Takato… I want to show you something." She says almost mystically. She says it as if she has some secret she wants to show me. Something she will only show to me… and no one else. A key to her heart. A door to her mind.

'Just believe! Just believe!' I tell myself… just believe.

She turns and keeps walking. I look around for a second, and then… I lift my right foot up. I move it forward in the air, and bring it down and…

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I scream as I begin to fall down this bottomless canyon! "RRRRRIIIIIIIKKKKKAAAAA! HELP ME!!" I scream, but she just keeps on walking!

I twist and turn as I fall until I can no longer see Rika! I have my falling back to her! I look down and terror overwhelms me until... I see it… a tiny, white, light…

It grows bigger as I fall, and I assume I'm getting closer. I try with all my might and flip myself over so that I can look back up, but Rika is no longer in sight! I'm on my own aga-

"UGH!" I grunt as I slam into rock hard ground. Rock? Hard? Ground?! Solid! "I'm… I'm alive?" I say.

"Of course you're alive, Takatomon. Now, c'mon silly. It's almost time to play!"

I sit up, throwing sand all around the tent, and see Guilmon's head sticking in from outside the tent. He's smiling at me, and his razor sharp teeth are showing. "Guil-Guilmon!" I say shocked, but happy.

"Takatomon!" he replies happily, laughing at my silliness.  
"H-hey boy." I say smiling and then I remember what he said. "You... you ready to 'play?'" I ask him.  
He smiles. "I will once we become Gallantmon"  
_'That's exactly what I wanted to hear.'_ I say to myself.

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Fifteen minutes after my abrupt wake-up call, Guilmon and I are standing with Impmon, Kazu, Guardromon, MarineAngemon, and Puppetmon in front of our remaining army. Something in the back of my mind was nagging at me… something was wrong. Rika's message was conflicting with the voice that had promised me to get Rika back. So… which one was telling me the truth? The Inner Voice inside of me had told me I could get Rika back by giving me the 'power,' and had thus provided me with a plan to start that process. On the other hand, Rika has just told me that our plans are being foreseen and we're set for a trap. So… who do I listen to? Is it possible that Rika was being controlled by the Dark her? That certainly would explain how she left me… walking away and talking in the way that she did. Or…was my Inner Voice lying? Was that voice that told me I could defeat the Darkness… was it lying? Could it possibly have been a trick by the Darkness to make me believe the voice and walk right into the trap?

On the OTHER hand… if I pulled the attack all together… we wouldn't have a plan at all. We would be sitting ducks, waiting for the Darkness' forces to come out and massacre us. But… what if the walls don't roll back? What if by attacking them… it deletes our troops? And then the Darkness soldiers come flying out of them in the midst of our unsuspecting soldiers… all of us would surely die!

We're damned if we do… and damned if we don't!

"Takatomon…" I turn and see Guilmon looking up at me. "It's time."

I nod. '_Here goes nothing._'

The tingling sensation takes over as I'm overcome with a red aura, and I can see Kazu is being surrounded by a brown one. Suddenly, I'm overcome by the tingling sensation, close my eyes… and when I open them again… I'm Gallantmon.

I turn and see HiAndromon standing not far away and he nods at me. I turn towards the army as Impmon has also digivolved to Beezlemon, and we 5 Mega digimon stand before our army. The generals… ready to lead. I look around at our surroundings. We took up camp near the walls… and now… we are ready to fight. I look at the army and every one of them looks prepared… to live or die… the decision will soon be made. I turn on spot and point my lance towards the walls… some 300 yards away. "Onward- march!" Simultaneously, the other four Megas and I started marching towards the walls, and the army followed slowly behind.

We walked slowly on as the desert air beat at our skin, armor, wings, hands, claws, feet, faces, masks, etc. The crawl towards our fate, despite being surrounded by others who shared the same destiny, seemed onerous. It was as if I was the only warrior left. It would not surprise me… if I **was** the only warrior left after this battle.

As we draw within the last one hundred yards however, suddenly, a part of the wall directly in front of us began to vibrate. It shook until it created a half circle… a door of sorts. Suddenly, the 'door' shook violently and out from it popped ChaosJustimon… alone and fully repaired since the last time we did battle. "This is our battle." HiAndromon calls out, looking sideways at me.

I realize that he means Takato and Kazu vs. Ryo, and I nod. I step forward and he does as well. ChaosJustimon's mechanical arm produces a black laser blade, in contrast to the red laser blade it usually makes. "You will face your defeat here; today- digidestine." He says to us.

"We'll be the judge of that." I reply, bending my knees in preparation to do battle.

HiAndromon bends his knees as well and looks to me. He nods and it's on!

He takes off, rushing towards ChaosJustimon. I wrap my cape around me and vanish myself, reappearing a moment later out of view, falling with my lance in front of me, off to ChaosJustimon's right. "Atomic Ray!" I hear HiAndromon yell and a nuclear blast takes off right for ChaosJustimon. He jumps up into the air to avoid it- perfect! "HAAA!" I scream.

ChaosJustimon looks up at me, but he is too late. His body is suspended in mid-air, and I bring my lance down upon him. I feel it come crashing up against the space between his shoulder and his neck. As I land back down onto the ground he falls flat down on his stomach. I stand over him and smile devilishly. I point the end of my lance into his back. Too easy, "LIGHTENING JOUST!" I yell.

Electricity forms at the end of my lance and a blast of energy erupts as I am sent flying into the air from the impact of the blast and I hear ChaosJustimon scream in agony. I land a few feet from my original standing point over him. He slowly gets on his knees, but can't seem to stand up. I walk over to him so that I'm standing next to his withering, beaten body. I can hear my entire army screaming in rejoice, and I know what to do. I lift my right leg back, and bring it forward with as much force possible and kick him on his side.

He falls sideways and lies in front of me, belly up, exposed to any possible attack. He was such easy prey... it's like taking candy from a baby. I point my shield at him, but I hear a ruffle of sorts from behind me and the army goes into an uproar. I turn to HiAndromon, but he's not alone anymore. BlackWargreymon has him in a choke hold! He stands behind HiAndromon as he wraps one claw around his neck and with the other he holds the blade of his claw up against the back of HiAndromon's head. Ah, crap. "What are you gonna do now… Takato?"

Truthfully… I have no effing clue what I'm gonna do now! What does he WANT me to do!? Let ChaosJustimon go? "Let him go, BlackWargreymon. You're battle is not with him."

"CHAOS BURST!"

What!? I'm overshadowed by something, then I feel something upon me and the next moment I'm struck in the back with overwhelming force as an energy blast strikes me head-on! I fly a few yards ahead and hit the desert floor with extreme force. I squint my eyes as I try to stand up. I'm on all fours before I hear the same voice from before yell out, "CHAOS CLAP!"

The ground I'm on begins to crack as dark light is emitted from the crevices and then energy bursts forth and I'm struck again! I float in air as the shockwaves come forth from the ground and assault my body. I hit the ground hard as they cease but I feel very weak now. I turn my head and see ChaosJustimon walking towards me, his Black Blade protruding from his arm. Damn it! I forgot all about him with BlackWargreymon's arrival! I realize I'm without my shield! My only means of defense! Where is it! I turn my head in every which way as ChaosJustimon grows closer and closer and… there it is! It's lying a few feet away from me! As I reach out for it ChaosJustimon runs forward in an effort to try and stop me, but he's too slow! I have the shield and I roll sideways as his blade comes crashing into the ground where I had been, just a moment before! I roll backwards and back onto my feet as I stand face-to-face with him. "This ends here, Takato!"

I have no lance, but I hold my shield at length as he charges me with his blade held in front of him. Steady… steady… steady…

"RAAAAAAGH! CHAOS END!"  
"SHIELD OF THE JUST!"

He thrusts himself into the air, ready to come down on me with his blade, and I aim my shield right at his airborne body and shockwaves can be felt as my blast comes crashing into his body. A bright red light is emitted until I'm blinded! For a few moments I can't see my own shield in front of me… but I know it's there. At least… I hope it is! The light fades and I can see again… but… I can't see ChaosJustimon. My eyes adjust to the light after another moment or two and then I see him… lying far away, face down in the desert sand. He forgot that my lance wasn't my only weapon. That will be his undoing. Now… I have bigger fish to fry.

I turn and see BlackWargreymon still holding HiAndromon the same way he had been before. Hmmm… it's time to make this what it should be. I lift my right hand and make it into a fist except for my middle finger and index finger. I curl these two fingers inward twice in a quick succession and the signal is sent. Before BlackWargreymon knows what hit him Puppetmon and MarineAngemon are upon him. "Puppet Pummel!"

Puppetmon's attack blasts into the back of BlackWargreymon, and as he lets go of HiAndromon, MarineAngemon scoops him up and with surprising strength lifts him high into the air. They make a U-turn while in the sky and fly back over towards the group. BlackWargreymon reaches behind his back to grab at Puppetmon, but he drops to the desert floor before he can get a hand on him and begins to make a break for the army. "Dark War Blast!" he shouted as he exposed his claw and an energy ball collected and shot at the Mega Digimon. It shot forward and Puppetmon was doo-

A black blur appeared and swooped Puppetmon up and away... into the sky… it was… Beezlemon! He batted his wings as he smiled at BlackWargreymon on the ground. BlackWargreymon lifted his claw upwards to aim at him but before he could fire I yelled out, "NO! This is OUR battle!"

He stopped and turn to stare at me. He smiled at me vilely and dropped his claw to his side. He turned to face me and finally… now I would have my sweet revenge. For tricking me… for making a fool of me… for nearly killing Renamon and the rest of us… for playing his part in destroying the underground bases… for all the innocent digimon that he KILLED… FOR EVERYTHING THAT HE DID! The anger exploded within me! I was ready to burst! I would DESTROY HIM!

_'Yes! Yes! That's it! Destroy! Kill! Murder! Do it! Kill him! He's hurt so many close to you! Kill him! Do it! Fight! Hurt! KILL! MURDER!'_

That voice! It's back… just in time!

_'I will give you the 'power!' Just embrace it all! Let 'me' into 'you!' Do it! Do it Takato… KILL HIM!'_

"RAAAAAAAAAA!! BLACKWARGREYMON! YOU'LL PAY!!"

He just smiled at me devilishly… and this infuriated me more than anything else! I vanished and reappeared behind him I took the back of my hand as he moved his head to look for where I was and smashed into the back of his head. He stumbled forward as I moved quickly to his side and kicked him in his left arm with as much force as my left leg could muster! He stumbled again but this time he was facing me. I took my shield in hand and charged at him! I smashed it right into his chest and fell forward purposely as I collapsed onto of him. I put my left knee on the shield so that it pinned him down. He was spread under the weight of me and my shield with his arms spread far out as well as his legs as the shield covered his entire upper and lower body. I brought my right fist up and then came down with it into his skull. I heard and saw parts of his metal mask crack under my power. I reached for his horn of a nose with my right hand and forcefully pulled his face back into a facing me. I let go and this time I raised my left fist. I brought it too down upon him and more of his mask cracked under my might and I could hear the excitement and cheers of my army and friends cheering me on. Yes! Yes! **This** was revenge!

_'Yes! That's it, Takato! Kill! Kill!'_

I grabbed his horn with my left hand this time and again brought him so I could see his eyes. However, now I pulled with all my strength and broke his horn right off! I pushed his head of to the left with my left hand and brought my right hand up again. I brought it down and the mask cracked once again. It was becoming deeper as they creep closer and closer to the eye holes where his dark yellow eyes stared up at me. I brought my right fist up again and hit him again… and again… and again… now his mask was cracking all over. I cupped his mask with my left hand and brought his face up so he could look me in the eye. "Any last words?"

"Just a few… little boys shouldn't play with the adults."  
"What?" I replied, taken aback.  
"_Dark War Blast_."

Before I knew what hit me I was sent flying backwards on to my back as I hit the ground hard. I got up quickly though, just in time to see him standing up as well. He growled at me viciously and I can almost sense the unease in my army as they are more than aware of what he's capable of. But he's a beaten solider right now. I've done him some good, knocking him around. Now it's just time for him to fight back. "Corona…"

"NO!" I yell, hearing Beezlemon preparing to intervene, "This is MY battle. No one else is to intervene!"

I stare grimly at BlackWargreymon… this will be a fight to the very end. I will not allow him to continue on. He beat me once… he will not beat me again! "I will not lose to you, BlackWargreymon." I said… for the first time I could hear Guilmon in my voice. I hold my shield close to my body and I can see my lance right on the ground next to BlackWargreymon. He must be reading my mind as he looks right at it and wait… no! He's bends down and picks up my lance and holds it at length- which causes my entire army to go into an uproar as he brandishes my weapon. He doesn't seem to hear them but looks up at me and actually throws it up lightly towards me. I reach out and grab it as it gets closer and stare at him… he wants a true fight again… just like when we had our first battle as Gallantmon vs. BlackWargreymon. But that won't be how it will be this time… I won't give up any of my advantages so that he can keep his- by giving up my shield and lance I give up my powers, whereas he keeps his powers as long as he has claws. I held both my shield and sword close to me… prepared for a fight to the death. I will not lose! "Prepare yourself… THIS… is where you meet you're end."

He growls again and vanishes before my very eyes- gone with the wind! However, a memory flashes before my eyes of a defeated Renamon and her attempts to vanish against an opponent clearly her superior. I turn to my LEFT and shoot my lance high into the air… the next moment a reappearing BlackWargreymon is at my disposal as his gut is at the end of my weapon! "Lightening Joust!" I call out as my lance grows with light at the tip and blasts him sky high!

His limp body is suspended in air and I raise my shield in preparation to… too easy. I bring it down to my side and he vanishes again. Where did he-

He reappears right in front of me, his right claw coming right at me! I raise my shield as quickly as I can and just barely block his blow. But he hammers away again at my shield, and then again, and again and again. I lift the shield up I shove my lance right at him! No! He moves his left arm up and then down and traps the end of my lance against his body! He pulls it and I'm brought forward in an effort to not let go of my weapon but this plays right into his hand. He lifts his left leg up and sits it right into my gut and I fall over… letting go of both my lance and shield! He stands over me and then kicks my shield away so that I can't grab it. He grabs the lance into his hands and lifts it over his head! He's going to kill me with my own weapon!

However, the next thing I know he throws it as far as he possibly can! I turn to watch it soar across the desert floor until it hits the ground, with the end of the lance dug deep into the earth. I turn back around and look up at him. He lifts his claw to in front of him… to right in front of my face. A black ball of energy begins to gather, and slowly grows bigger and bigger! "Say good-bye!"

Before he can blast me to data I bring my right leg up and kick his arm straight up so that the blast takes off into the air. I lift my left leg up and kick him in the stomach to buy myself some time as well. I jump to my feet and bring my fist into his mask again. This time, he is spun around by the force of my punch combined with his imbalance from my kick. I grab the wings that rests on his back with the crest of courage on tem and pull tem right off of him. I turn them into their alternate-purpose form- another shield! I smash BlackWargreymon over the head with his own shield and he falls to his knees. I bring my leg up and with as much force as I can muster I kick him in the back and he falls flat on his face into the sand. I stand over his body. I need to do something to put him out of commission for a few seconds. Involuntarily I lift my right leg up over his back again and bring it down with much force. I repeat this three or four more times until I feel comfortable walking away.

I turn towards my shield and rush over to it. I dislodge it from the ground. Now for the finishing blow! I look over at BlackWargreymon, who is still lying face down in the sand, and then I check back over with ChaosJustimon, who is also still lying lifeless on the ground. I look to the army is celebrating once again! They know what I plan. I raise my lance high into the sky and they explode in approval! They're tyrant is about to be expelled! I walk over to BlackWargreymon's motionless body and stand over it and he turns his head slightly to look up at his conqueror, but he is silent. I stare down at him with bitter resent in my eyes, "Any last words?"

He blinks once, and then twice more in quick succession before closing his eyes completely, and shakes his head. "Well I do…"

He opens his eyes again and looks up at me with surprise. "… little boys shouldn't play with the adults."

I hold my lance with the end pointed down towards his body, and raise it at length over my head. "DIE!" I scream as I bring my lance down to his bo-

Something dark and violet flies into my chest and then out my back. I feel all life leave me as I lose feeling in my arms and legs and I see my lance thud lifelessly into the ground, and I drop to my knees. I feel weak and almost dead. I feel sick and tired. I fall backwards onto my butt, and then fall again onto my back, with my feet still planted on the ground and my knees still up. BlackWargreymon lies face down on the ground in front of me and I lie nearly dead perpendicular to him. Wh… what was that?

I roll over with all the strength left in me and get on all fours. _BOOM!_

I feel a leg come crashing into my side and I'm uplifted into the air and then crash back down into the desert sand on my back. Before I can react I see a dark hand reach for my neck and yank me upwards into the standing position as I stumble forward and fall back over onto one knee. I gasp for air and lift my head up-

Right in front of me is a black and purple fox… but… it's made up of energy? It floats not even two feet from my face and then floats away to my right. I follow it with my head until I can't anymore. Then I move to both knees, but I can't follow it anymore still. I stand up to my full height and turn my body completely around and… and… and…

Standing only a few feet from me is BlackSakuyamon… the darkness bio-merge of Rika and Renamon. Standing only a few feet from me is Renamon. . .

. . . . . . . . .standing only a few feet from me is Rika. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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A/N: Yay! This chapters over! And look! I got this chapter done really quickly this time! Yay! I'm doing better! So yeah… this was the 15th chapter! Yay! So yeah, a certain someone mentioned to me in the last chapter, Takato was kinda really out of character so I made sure to keep him in character this time, at least, for the most part. It got really dark really fast if you didn't notice, but I thought I did a good job of making the transition? Well, I guess that's for you (the readers!) to decide, isn't it? I thought this was a really great chapter on my behalf. I believe it held a lot of great scenes from Takato's talk with himself to seeing Rika again in his dreams over the canyon to the fights with the Darkness' main troopers all the way to BlackSakuyamon's arrival! Yay! So here's a few little notes: the whole scene over the canyon actually came to me in a dream. That's the honest truth. I dreamt that scene of Promise a WHILE ago, but yeah, it finally got to make it's appearance in the story. Second note: according to wikipedia, BlackSakuyamon does not actually exist. Neither does ChaosJustimon by the way. However, there IS an opposite of Sakuyamon. Apparently it's name is Kazuhamon, but to be honest, who really wants to hear that? It's much easier to say that BlackSakuyamon is the Dark Sakuyamon rather than use the actual name and besides… if I had put 'Kazuhamon' how many of you would have been like 'wtf?' Yeah, that's what I thought. So for all intents and purposes, BlackSakuyamon is Kazuhamon and will assume all of Kazuhamon's abilities, attacks, powers and such. Anyway, third note: I liked writing that opening part from Impmon's POV. It was something new and provided some interesting insight to the story and how he's feeling. Also, I thought you'd all like that poetic stuff in the first paragraph. Kinda reminds me of what I usually did at the beginning of chapters of Autumn Leaves. Moving along, there's obviously a much darker side to Takato that has been awaken which I had a LOT of fun writing. It was easy. ; I did my best trying to write the fighting scenes and once again, my lack of care for ChaosJustimon and Ryo all-together became apparent by my early and easy disposal of him. Really… I just don't like him at all. That comeback of his was unscheduled at first, but I decided to add it in to show he isn't ALL that pathetic. He's got strength, but nothing compared to Gallantmon and/or BlackWargreymon and the others. By the way, never mentioned this before, but Puppetmon is one of my favorite Mega's, so that's why he's in this story this far in case you're wondering. Guilmon's personality was more present this time around, but Takato's desire for revenge kinda pushed Guilmon aside in this battle. Okay, well I think that's it. Please review. I mean c'mon. I got like 3 or 4 reviews for the last chapter IF THAT and it got me all fired up to write this one as fast as I could. So… PLEASE REVIEW. Okay, peace!

Love Always. Rukato Forever.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"  
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	16. You Never Hear It

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A/N: Happy 16th Chapter! Yay! Here it is and thanks to the people who DID review. I know I say please review, but really… it is kind of defeating to have such little feedback for my story. Makes it almost not worth it to continue writing it? Well, here goes nothing. Enjoy. Love and be loved. Read… and review!  
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You Never Hear It

The desert airs grows thick and a sense of defeat rings throughout. I stare across the desert at the girl I've fallen in love with… who hates me. Great weakness flows through my body as I know I could fall over, but I refuse it. This is… how could… where did I… how has it come to this? How did this happen? Where did I go wrong? Was it last winter… when Rika, Henry and I decided not to tell the others? Would that have changed all of this? What if I had stopped Suzy? What if I had stepped further away from the portal? Then… oh God, I have no idea what would have happened then? The real Rika has already told me that the Dark Rika was destined to break up with me… but what if I could have-

NO! This isn't the time for 'what ifs.' This is the time to… fight? But… how can I attack her? If I defeat her… does that mean I defeat the real Rika… if I kill her… that means I kill the real Rika. But… I can't just let her kill ME. That would be inanity! What the hell am I suppose to do?! "Hello… Takato."

Her… her voice. It was the same. It was just as I remember it. But… no! Just ignore it! She is **not** Rika! She is not Rika! I close my eyes to try to block it out…

Rika! She's got her head up against my chest… listening to my heart beat with her head looking at the TV… our parents are asleep in the room as well… they all lie around the room… on the two couches… wine glasses are scattered around the room… the television is the only light in this dark as night room… a bright disco ball falls from the sky as people celebrate on the streets and music is played… she looks up to me with a mischievous smile… she whispers something about happy and new and then kisses me softly on the lips… then releases and puts her head back on my chest… and she's gone.

I see Rika come thundering at me from about two feet away… before I know what hits me… she hits me! Then… we fall backwards… we hit water and fall a few feet… we come up laughing… scene fades… I'm in the middle of snow… a LOT of snow… I turn around and someone tackles me… its Rika! She's laughing… scene fades…

Rika sits on her bed… I'm in her room… but… she's different… I'm sitting in that chair that used to be by her window… and she's sitting in her bed… she looks apathetic towards me as I can feel my mouth moving but… I don't know what I'm saying… she yells… she's still yelling… then I involuntarily move my head to the window… its absolutely pouring… another second passes by and lightening blasts… after another second the scene fades…

I open my eyes and this time Rika is… she's… she's BlackSakuyamon. She doesn't smile… she doesn't do anything but glare at me. This… this thing… this monster… this is MY Rika. That's my little girl… that's my angel… that's my everything! I draw in a hushed breath as I find it almost hard to breathe in this harsh desert air… how… how could this be?! She… she's waiting for me to… she's… oh my God… no! "Give me my Rika back." I demand.

Now she smiles… but it's just like BlackWarGreymon's smile. It sets every bone in my body on fire. I want to throttle her... even more ferociously than I did BlackWargreymon or ChaosJustimon. My blood boils under my hot temper. She WILL pay for hurting my Rika! "I'll make you pay… I'll make you hurt!"

Without another thought I zoom through the air, all previous injuries forgotten. Before she can react I have my fist in her gut. I pull it out then grab her right arm and throw her to the ground in front of me. I lift my leg and kick her with all my might as she goes tumbling along the desert floor about twenty yards. "GET UP! GET UP NOW!"

She gets up slowly but stands tall and continues to glare at me, "Now, now, now, Takato… do you really want to hurt Rika Nonaka like that?"

All the air in my body is gone. No! No! Rika! What am I doing! I can't get too caught up!

'Yeah, Takatomon, we need to be careful about this! Renamon and Rika are still inside that thing!' Guilmon says inside my head.

'Right, boy. But… how do we fight her then?' I ask him.  
'Umm… ugh… I don't know, Takatomon!' he says dreadfully.  
'Ugh… don't worry about it… we'll figure it out as we go along.'

I continue to stare at BlackSakuyamon, with her back to the Darkness walls, and she seems content on only staring back. Wait… now she's drawing herself up. She stands as upright as she can and raises her fist, except for her middle finger and index finger. What is she doing? "Hmmm… it seems that you have **quite** the unfair advantage, don't you? Let's level the playing field some, eh?"

She curls her two fingers inwards twice in quick succession. Suddenly, the entire wall behind her begins to rumble! It shakes like an earthquake… what the hell is going on?!

All of a sudden, a Saberdramon explodes from the walls! It's the same thing as a Birdramon but, of course, it's Black. It swiftly flies over my head, stops and beats it's wings a few times, causing sand to fly around my area until, "Black Saber!"

Suddenly, it rises up into the air and, just like Birdramon's Meteor Wing, showers meteors of black fire upon my army! They go up into an uproar but before I can see any counterattacks fired at the Champion level digimon, the walls explode again and…

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Darkness digimon burst out of the Valley of the Shadows and immediately go into full out war against my army. I turn from left to right still screaming in fear and distress! "NOOOOO! THIS ISN'T HOW THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE!"

I lift my arm up and close line a Cherrymon before he can get past. I punch the trunk of his body and he explodes into data, which I ignore. I turn and see a Greymon coming right for me, no fear in his eyes. I buckle down and he lowers his horn. He crashes into me, but I grab his horns, lift him into the sky and drop him behind me on his back. Before I have time to turn around he's exploded into data. A Leomon and a Devimon are coming at me on both my left and right, about to pass me. I stick out my fists, which they unsuspectingly fly right into and explode. Before I can stop to think a Monochromon is bull rushing me. I lower my hands and just as he's about to ram me, I lift him high into the sky, leaving him to whatever happens from there.

I turn to BlackSakuyamon finally, and yell, "THIS ISN'T THEIR BATTLE! IT'S **OURS**!"

She smiles, then growls and takes flight, right for me! I raise my right arm for defense but she brings her staff down upon my arm and-

"UGH!" I can feel pain instantaneously. I think she just shattered Gallantmon's arm! Damn it!

She flies into the air and stares down at me, laughing. I drop my arm to my side, and reach across my body to grab at it with my left. This can't possibly be good. She growls down at me viciously and zooms back down at me again! I jump towards her, with more of an angle upwards in an effort to avoid her but she points her staff at my cape, which tares right off! I flip over her and she lands on the ground. I turn on spot and she smiles smugly at me. How am I going to win this fight!? She tosses my cape to the ground and growls viciously again. _'Weakness!'_

I jump up this time immediately and do a flip in the air as she zooms right past me. I turn my body and come back down to the ground facing her, with her back to me. "Missed me." I yell, realizing that she growls before dashing at me.

She turns and… smiles?

_**BOOM!**_

I'm launched into the air and as I twist my body in the air I see a SkullGreymon just sent me airborne. "DARK SHOT!"

He fires his missal at me and I have no defense! "NOOOOOOOO!" I yell as I lift my left arm up to try to possibly block it but it won't do! It gets bigger and bigger until its-

I feel myself swept into the arms of someone and when I open my eyes I see Beezlemon batting his wings as he flies me back down to the ground, "What? No thanks?" he says jokingly.

"I had it!" I say, though I speak with more bitterness than I meant.

He lands on the ground and I go to take off for BlackSakuyamon. I get two steps away and I'm stopped. I can't move? I turn around and Beezlemon has grabbed hold of the last bit of my cape… the shards that remain. "Hold up, cowboy. You can't go busting in there again… not yet."

"What do you mean I can't go!?" I yell at him, furious that he's trying to stop me from my fight!  
"You are in NO shape to go fighting BlackSakuyamon."  
"I think I can decide for myself what kind of shape I am and who I can fight." I tell him.  
"Just calm down for two seconds! MarineAngemon… get over here before he runs off."

MarineAngemon? What? I look over Beezlemon's shoulder and see the little Pink Mega come floating over to me. He flies close to my shattered right arm and says, "Kahuna Wave!"

A pink heart-shaped bubble, the size of my arm, comes floating out his mouth and absorbs my arm inside of it. It pops after a second and I have feeling in it again… no… wait… it's completely healed! "Yes! Perfect! Thank you, MarineAngemon." I say and then dash off again, without another thought of Beezlemon.

As I run towards where she had been I can see scenes of terrible horror. The war is going on at full blast as the digimon of both sides tear one another to shreds! I want to stop and help… but I don't have time! I rush past so many helpless digimon and return to scene of my battle. I look straight ahead to BlackSakuyamon, who is floating in the air, petting the SkullGreymon that nearly killed me. "Urrrrrrrggggh!" I scream, furious at her lack of care for all the digimon that are being destroyed by her invasion!

"BlackSakuyamon… I can not allow you to continue this ANY LONGER!" I yell, Guilmon ever present in my voice.

"You're right… you need to be taken out of the picture so I can take my own turn at killing all of your troops." She says looking at me. "ATTACK!"

The SkullGreymon leaves her side and starts thundering towards me. Well this is gonna be quite diff-

The ground beneath me begins to quake with so much force and energy, the likes of which the Darkness walls would envy very much so! The SkullGreymon halts his movement as even BlackSakuyamon is a little shocked at the revelation. What the HELL is going on!? Suddenly, crack begins to form on the ground… they pass under my feet and make a curvy path straight for BlackSakuyamon! The ground explodes and…

A MetalSeadramon blasts through the ground and is stationary… looking right down… at me… oh shit, now I'm effed.

I don't say anything. I don't move a muscle. I guess… this is the Darkness' back up plan? When BlackSakuyamon couldn't beat me herself… send a MetalSeadramon to kill me off. Wow… this sucks.

I stare up at him… waiting for him to attack… just waiting for my own deletion… just waiting. Swiftly, he turns his body around and stares at SkullyGreymon and BlackSakuyamon. He turns his attention specifically to SkullGreymon…

"RIVER OF POWER!"

A huge laser of energy explodes from his huge hexagon of a nose and covers the SkullGreymon completely! He releases his blast and there isn't even data to absorb! Ho-holy crap! He turns around to me immediately… ah f—k. Here we go again. He raises high into the air and opens his mouth… "Sorry for the delay, Gallantmon. My troops and I had a long trek, and it seems that we arrived **just** in time."

He speaks with a tone similar to Gallantmon's- noble and strong and… holy shit, he's on our team! Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES! "Don't worry about it. But leave this one to me… she's mine."

He nods, and then jumps up and dives back into the desert floor. I don't know who the hell his 'troops' are, but I'm just glad we them on our side. I turn my attention to BlackSakuyamon who looks PISSED. "It doesn't matter! I'm still going to KILL YOU!"

She blasts off for me and I move to my left, just barely dodging her and her staff. I turn and look at her, only a few feet away with her staff lodged into the ground. "KILL me!? You're going to KILL me!?" I say, shocked.

She turns, violence fluent in her eyes. She pulls the staff out of the ground and begins to swing it at me and I dodge it while moving back by leaning backwards continuously. She continues to swing at me for a few seconds before screaming out, "DIE!" and slams it into the ground, which I dodged again.

I stand on her left as she gasps for air and I just stand over her with my arms folded. "My, my. The Rika I know would **NEVER** try to kill anyone… let alone me."

She growls lets go of her staff and goes to punch me in the gut- but I knew it was coming. I stick my hand right in the middle of my stomach and grab her fist, but pretend to be struck as I let my body react as if she had hit me by collapsing the top half of my body over her fist so she can't see my hand or hers. She smiles at me viciously and whispers, "I don't care who you THINK I am or was."

"Maybe you should." I say, raising myself up, exposing her fist caught in my hand. "Because I know the real Rika… and when it comes to playing cards, she _loves_ to use the same moves twice." I say, thinking back on the months of her kicking my ass despite me discovering all of her strategies. I had successfully smashed her in her gut… so naturally she would try the same thing. "Not only that… but she loves revenge."

"Well… if you know that much, then you MUST know that I'm also unrelenting!" she says and punches me in the head with her other hand.

I turn sideways from the blow and I can hear her moving behind me, and then I hear the dislodging of her staff. I turn around and raise my left arm up to protect-

"Oh crap!" I say out loud just before she brings the weapon into my other arm this time, and immediately I feel the pain of my LEFT arm shattering this time.

It falls limply to my side and she buries her right knee into my guy, pulls it out and then kicks me forward with her left leg. I fall onto my back, but roll backwards just before she can bury the staff into my chest. I get to my feet quickly and face her. "Come on, Rika, I know the real you is in there somewhere!"

"SHUT UP!" She screams and lifts the staff high over her head with both hands.

'_Weakness!' _

I bury my right fist into her gut as she exposes it in full. She gasps for air quickly, and then drops her staff to the ground. She falls to her knees and loosely grabs my forearm with her hands and puts her head down. "Now… I know you're not done yet. I'm not stupid. Get up and fight me!" I yell at her.

Instead of actually getting up, though, she tightens her grip around my forearm and pulls me forward! She stands up at the same time and buries her knee into me again and then let's me go. I fall to the ground in pain and… oh my God! There it is!

She turns and before she can pick up her staff I spin around and kick her legs out from underneath her. She falls to her knees and then flat on her face. "Oh… you'll pay for that one." She says, but I'm already up and running. I pick up what I had lost long ago… my lance! She gets up, picks up her staff and as she stands up I grab the back of her long hair and toss her backwards. She stumbles and falls to the ground, her staff still in the ground. I stand over her and point my lance right at her throat. "Rika loves pay back… ya know what else she loves?" I say, standing over her. "She loves me."

"I don't know what this 'love' is but I HATE YOU!" she screams at me.

"No! Because… she… no… YOU love me!"

Electricity runs up and down her body as it lies on the ground. It stops abruptly and she yells out, "Ura Izuna!"

I think it's safe to assume that that's not good. Suddenly, however, a light of purple and black rapidly surrounds me. It grows tighter and tighter until I drop my lance and BlackSakuyamon crawls away and heads for her staff. The light grows bigger and bigger as well as tighter with each second. It wraps me up like a huge snake and then… it forms the head of a fox and looks down at me. "RAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!" It roars at me.

It rears its head and then goes in for the ki-

"ATOMIC RAY!"

Before the fox made of energy can dive bomb on me, nuclear energy blows it to nothing! I turn and see HiAndromon standing side by side with the rest of my fellow Mega allies as well as I see a victorious Light side army standing tall. I can tell from here that there is a significant decrease in our numbers, but MetalSeadramon stands high, and I'm sure his new numbers will surely hel-

_**SLAM!**_

I fall on my back and I stare up at BlackSakuyamon with a feeling of emptiness in my stomach… quite literally. She buried her staff into my gut and now I think it's pretty obvious that that damn staff has some bone-crushing abilities. She smiles at me with victory in her eyes. I know my Rika is in there… I just know it! "You mean to tell me… that the Darkness has never told you what love is?"

She growls and lifts her staff up high, ready for the finishing blow. The only thing that comes to my mind is mind numbingly stupid. I lift my leg up and kick her between the legs! She doubles over for a second and I take advantage as I sit up and whisper into her ear, "Love, as defined by me is caring about someone so much that you would do anything for them. No matter what. That that person whom you love is and will always be in your heart."

She rises up again and growls at me, "That would have hurt a lot more if I was a guy."

I fall back down onto my back and laugh at her, "Yeah… trust me, I know."

"Are you ready to die yet? Or do you still want to blabber on about this 'love' that only you seem to have?"

Only I seem to have? Oh my God… the Darkness has brainwashed her. It's… it's completely erased her memory of me save, possibly, when she hated me… which I hope she never did. "You're wrong. Rika… I know you're in there somewhere… and I know you have love in your heart."

She smiles and lowers her head to nose-to-nose with me, and whispers, "Rika isn't here right now, but if you'd like, I can take a message."

Bitch. "Yeah, tell her that BlackSakuyamon has love in her heart too."

Suddenly the electricity runs up and down her body again for a couple of seconds, and she seems paralyzed, "LIES! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! **SHUT UP**!"

That's it! She doesn't know she has love! The real Rika is fighting back! "That's right, BlackSakuyamon! You have love in your heart too! You have the power to love and be loved!"  
"LIES! LIES! LIES!" she screams, but she withers in pain as the electricity runs over her. Suddenly… she begins to fade! She's disappearing… no… wait… she's fading… to yellow! Sakuyamon is alive under that Darkness exterior!

"NO! It's the truth! Love! Love is being able to stare into the eyes of someone and know that you would do anything for them! You would cry for them! You would fight for them! You would protect them! You would **die** for them!"

She screams in agony and then fades to Sakuyamon for a whole few seconds… but then she goes back to BlackSakuyamon! The electricity stops. She stares down at me and holds her staff high over her head. "DIE, digidestine!"

She brings her staff down upon me as I scream out, "Rika, I LOVE you!"

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The shot rang throughout the desert as it buried itself deep into it's target, however, BlackSakuyamon didn't hear the staff blow through Gallantmon or feel the kick back as she continued to try and dive the staff through his body and into the ground… then again, **when the shot rings home…**

_You never hear it_.

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A/N: Sweet. Another chapter down. I kinda liked this chapter because it was fast paced and I worked till 3:45 working on it. : But yeah, it was really good. I know some of you Autumn Leaves fanatics enjoyed those flashbacks as well as the new memory that I thought you'd all like. In case any of you are still wondering- it was New Years Eve. But yeah, awesomeness : But yeah, MetalSeadramon makes an awesome appearance and kicks some ass. I was ALWAYS a fan of the Dark Masters so don't be surprised if a Machinedramon makes a star appearance as well, but no, there will be no Piedmon unless he's fighting for the Darkness. I like to turn most of the digimon on the Darkness' side into their Dark versions, but I can't do that with everyone of them so there was a little bit of both. Anyway, this chapter was much shorter as will most of the other ones after this because it's gonna be fast paced with a lot of action and the next chapters gonna be awesome, but as of now Takato's in a little bit of pain, isn't he? I'll let you all speculate on how the rest of the Lightness army will respond without the aide of Takato or even Gallantmon. Hope you all enjoyed, because I know I did. Alright, that's it. Okay, peace!

Love Always. Rukato Forever.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"  
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	17. The Darkness

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A/N: If I don't get at least 5 reviews for this chapter I'm not finishing the story because I want to know that people are actually reading it. This is getting out of hand. I'm really upset. I hope you like the chapter you've all been waiting for. Love and be loved. Read… and review!  
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The Darkness

The pain! Oh my God, the pain! It sears throughout my body and eats at my every fiber! Every digital atom is burning alive and my bones are crumbling as I speak! Even before the cells in my body can travel to my brain to send messages of pain the staff is inflicting, it's killing me! I feel the pain… I feel the betrayal… I feel the hatred… but what hurts the most… was being so close to her… and knowing that my Rika was fighting…

I let the pain sink in as I begin to feel the deletion begin to take me away… I can feel myself getting weak… I can feel it… the deletion will start soon… it'll all be over… any second now… in fact, it'll start right……… now! No? How about……… now! No? Still I feel my body in tact… I can feel the pain of my bones being crushed… or…

I open my eyes and...

A gasping beauty stands over me as she pants for air… with her long grey hair… tall staff… soft hands… and yellow body armor… wait… YELLOW?! "Sakuyamon!?"

She stops breathing as heavily and looks up at me… smiling… wait… the pain?!

I look to my gut and there is no staff lodged inside of me! It missed by inches to the left of my left thigh! I'm… I'm alive!? But… how!? I look up to her… how… how could this be?! Moments ago… she was… I saw her… BlackSakuyamon had won… she had fought it off… she had been victorious… she had conquered the Sakuyamon inside of her. She… she had won. But no. Sakuyamon fought through it. The Rika I knew was always inside of her… she came out on top! My… my angel is alive! I jump up with excitement into a standing position, "R-Rika!"

Sakuyamon looks up at me. This is it! This is the moment! The classic moment where she looks at up at me with astonishment and adoration as my love returns from being kidnapped by the evil Darkness. The moment where all that we had is still alive and we continue to be in love from now until the end of time. This is the moment!

Only… it's not. There is no look of astonishment or adoration. There is no moment. This is not it. She looks up at me… horrified. She is in distress and seems caught between two opposing courses of action. She looks on the verge of tears! She… she looks as if she'd prefer to be BlackSakuyamon as she shakes her head around, as if she's looking for something. Wh-what's going on? "R-Rika… what's wrong?"

She looks back at me and nearly crumbles right on the spot. "T-Takato!"

She rushes to my spot and before I can react she has her arms around me, squeezing me as tight as possible. There is a stunned silence throughout the desert as I hear the wind blow with eerie quiet. She releases her grasp on me and steps back, "It's so good to see you, Takato!"

I smile. My Rika! "I know! I've missed the real-"  
"Before you go any further, I need you to do me a favor!" She interrupts me.  
A favor? For her? Sure, but what's the hurry? "Sure, Rika. What is-"  
"I need you to kill me! Now!"  
"What!? Are you insane?!" I reply in shock.  
"No, not at all! And… you promised that you would! Remember?" she asks with a questioning look.  
"What?! Of course I don't…"

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"_You're waking up. Before you go, you need to know one thing! You've got to kill me, and Henry, and Ryo."  
"WHAT!? Never! I won't do it, Rika."_

_"__You've got to do it! You've got to kill me! I can't live like this, I don't want to harm you, or our friends!" she says, and the words are hollowed as I feel myself being swept away as everything around me begins to deteriorate before my very eyes._

_"But!"  
"NO BUTS! Promise you'll kill all of us."  
"But I-"  
"TAKATO!" She screams as she knows I'll be gone any second.  
"Fine! I promise!" I scream reluctantly…_

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"I… of course I…" I trail off as the memory floods over me.

"You remember! You know! You HAVE to kill me! You promised!"

Memories come crashing back to me as I remember the Darkness Rika telling me that we were through because of broken promises. Damn it! How could such fragile and nonexistent things means so much?! How could a simple promise mean so much?! How could a promise mean the difference between life and death!? It was a stupid PROMISE I made!! How could a promise mean the killing of the most important person in my life?! Promises! Always the promises! Torn between my failures and fixing them, I've made so many stupid promises that I can not keep! Why the promises?! Why did I promise all of this for a promise!? A promise!

"Takato! Do it now! Kill me! Before it's too late!" Rika yells at me.

"I…" I trail off, unsure of what to do. If I kill her… she's gone forever. If I don't… well, God knows when the Darkness will take her back?! But what if she's back for good!? No! She wouldn't be this jumpy if she was. Or maybe she doesn't know either? But if I'm wrong I could pay the ultimate price! Kill and she's gone. Don't kill and I'll break another promise, risk myself and my entire army as well as loser her again!? Kill? Save?

"Takato! You have to do it! Kill me! You promised!"

She's right! No! She's wrong! Right! Wrong! But I promised! But I can't kill her! Right! Wrong! Rika! The Digital World! Kill! Save! I.Can't.Do.This!

"Takato, you prom-"

"**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH**!" I scream and my body explodes with energy as a red aurora around me comes into full throttle, "Promise! A Promise! To hell with the promises! I won't do it, Rika! I can't kill you and I won't!"

She stands a few feet from me, seeming somewhat in shock. A little surprised. Perhaps flabbergasted at my violent out break. Her jaw hangs open as she stares blankly at me. Is… is she mad… or… what?

She closes her jaw and stands up tall. She holds her staff out and points it at me. Wha… what is she gonna do? "Fine, Takato. If that is how you feel, I can not force you to kill me." She says.

Oh thank God. She's- "However, then there is only one option left."

Her staff grows bright yellow. Oh bitch. Here we go. The red aurora grows fiercer as I prepare to fight the Rika I have always loved… again. Suddenly she reaches out, however, and grabs the staff with her other hand. What is she-

"RIKA! NO!"

I take a thundering step towards her but I'm too late! She brings her own staff into her stomach and it pierces right through her! I stare at her from only two steps away, "Ah… ah. Ugh. Th-the… the pain."

She falls to her knees in pain, and hangs her head. The staff explodes and bursts into data that floats and disappears after a few seconds. I stare down at her in shock and a sickening feeling rolls through my entire system. This… this wasn't supposed to happen! How… how could I allow this?! How!? Slowly, however, a single piece of data flows up from behind her and into the air. I watch it float over Rika's hung head and it floats up over my head before disappearing. I look down at Rika again and she raises her head to look up at me. Oh my God! She has a gaping hole right in the pit of her gut! Data shards surround the area but now they begin to break off! One by one more and more pieces float up and above Sakuyamon's head and then disappear. How… how could this happen? "R-Rika… Wh… why?"

Surprisingly… she smiles, "Because… Takato… this is… the only way."

She struggles with her speech as more data begins to float up and, more importantly, faster! "I… I can't believe you'd do this." I say weakly to her.

She smiles again, "It… it had… had t-to… to be… done."

This time she struggles to a halt. She hangs her head again. No! I know this movement! I recognize it! I will not allow it! I will not allow for my Rika to be deleted! TAKE ME INSTEAD! The only motion I can even think to do is reach out to her! Touch her! Save her! She is more important! None of this matters! All of this for her! I throw my left hand out to grab her, "RIKA!"

Death. Destruction. I hear Rika screaming. Chaos. Murder. I feel myself freeze over. Killing. Massacres. The hairs on the back of my head stand up. Lost. Hell. Forever I am at the mercy of this terrible force. I feel my body hurtled down an endless pit. Pain is omnipresent. Carnage… everywhere! I feel… so numb. So weak. So helpless. Bloodshed. Slaughter. Hatred. Lies. Dark. Emptiness. Undead. Evil. Vile. Oh the pain! What… what is happening?! I feel my arm become limb. I feel every bone in my body crumble under the weight of this horrible energy. Of this terrible power. Horror. Fear. Depression. Destitution. Forever left for nothing. I feel shocking pain ride up and down my every fiber and tear me apart inside out! I am blind… no… I can see… I can see… Nothing? I'm not blind… I'm just staring into nothing? I blink and I see Gallantmon's arm rested on something black. I see electricity running up and down my hand. Up my forearm. Up and down my body. I… I have to remove my hand somehow. I… I need to get out of this terror!

With all the might my weak body can muster I pull my arm away from the monstrosity I had been holding onto. I step back and look down at this horrible villain and it's a…

It's a dome!? A small, black, half circle- a DOME- sits in the space between me and Rika. Electricity flows around it rapidly. Wh… what is this thing? "Oh my God! It… it's here!"

I recognize the voice and know that it was Rika that yelled out. What on earth is 'it?' "What is this-"

"That's IT, Takato!" she says with horror and fear present in her voice. "That's the Darkness!"

The… The Darkness? You mean… I turn and look at this tiny atrocity. She means to tell me… that this… THING… THIS is the Darkness? This dome is the actual embodiment of the Darkness? How is that even possible?! "Quickly, Takato! Destroy it, before it's too late!"

I turn and see that it was Beezlemon calling out to me. I turn my attention to the Darkness. This… is IT? This… is the Darkness…

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"_Well… no one actually knows what the Darkness __is__."_  
"_I'm still not understanding." I replied, and to this, Rika laughed again._  
"_You wouldn't, Goggles." She said, in a mocking tone. What was up with her?_  
"_Hey, what's up with you? You got some kind of problem with me?" I asked, as if daring her to say yes._

_She gave me a devilish glare… not like the one before… but didn't reply. "Could you explain it then, Rika?" I said, daring her again to say yes._

"_Certainly." She replied, pushing some of her blood red hair out of her face._  
"_Really?" Renamon and I both asked in surprise, but Rika stood up to explain._

"_What Renamon means is that the Darkness is simply an unknown force of power… a willed beast. It's an unknowable figment, that's distorting the actual image of whatever the Darkness truly is." she said, in an… almost… _poetic_ type voice._

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I remember now! Rika… no, the Darkness Rika had told us… she had _**willingly**_ told us that the actual Darkness itself wasn't that much… that it was hiding behind the curtain that it had put up for itself. It had created for itself an image of what it was and let the image do the talking. But… no doubt, it has power. It's caused this much trouble already. This stupid dome, or circle, or bubble, or whatever it is… this is powerful. Beezlemon's right… we need to destroy it now before we don't get another chance. Where's my lance? I look around for a second and then see it lying on the ground a few feet away. It had fallen out when BlackSakuyamon's Black Fox had wrapped me up like a snake.

I take a few steps towards it and grab it and return to my standing position in front of this monster. This… is the Darkness? All this fighting… all this talking… making it out to be some untouchable god… and here it sits in front of me… in all it's glory… as a dome?

"Double Shot!" I hear Beezlemon shout. I turn and see to bullets come flying right for it. I take a step back, preparing for the impact! The shots hit the Darkness and… stop! They continue to spin around and around as they rotate pushing up against the Darkness… but don't go any further or explode or create any kind of impact whatsoever! However, they slow down and then stop spinning. Oh my God! The bullets are actually **absorbed** into the Darkness! What… what just happened!?

I turn to Beezlemon who holds his large fire arm in one arm and his double barrel hand gun in the other. He sticks the hand gun back into its holster on his lower leg but stares in shock. "Here, let me try!"

I turn and see HiAndromon take a step up and extends his arms to their full in front of him. He lets his hands hang limp and suddenly two blast cannons protrude from his wrists and are pointed at the Darkness. "ATOMIC RAY!"

Two nuclear blasts take off simultaneously and head right for the Darkness. I take another step back and watch as the make a direct… halt! How?! The two blasts continue to try to push into the Darkness but remain immobile against the enemy! They too slow down and come to a halt completely, and then are absorbed into the Darkness! "Enough! No more fooling around!"

I point the end of lance at it and turn to the others. "All of you Megas, Beezlemon, HiAndromon, MarineAngemon, Puppetmon, and MetalSeadramon- on three, I want all of you to fire your most powerful attacks and we can finish this bastard off once and for all!"

They nod and prepare as Puppetmon and MarineAngemon emerge from the crowd and get closer for better shots. "One…"

I can see Beezlemon begin to draw his inverted Pentagram and HiAndromon takes the best aim he can. "Two…"

MetalSeadramon rises up and his nose begins to grow bright with energy. MarineAngemon takes in a large breath and prepares for his attack while Puppetmon raises his hammer over his head with the bullets side pointed at the Darkness and I raise my lance up and point it at the Darkness, taking several steps back before calling out, "THREE!"

"CORONA DESTROYER!"  
"KAHUNA WAVE!"  
"PUPPET PUMMELL!"  
"RIVE OF POWER!"  
"ATOMIC RAY!"  
"LIGTHENING JOUST!"

All of the attacks take off and hit the Darkness dome all at the same moment! An explosion finally takes place and a mixture of smoke and sand bursts forth and temporarily blinds all of us as I left my right arm up to block the incoming sand and lower my head. The smoke begins to clear… its gone! It must be! **Nothing** could have possibly survived such a surge of attacks from such powerful digimon. Nothing.

The smoke begins to disappear and… it's still there! How?! That little stupid dome is taking EVERYTHING we throw at it! What the hell!? I rush towards it and raise my lance over my head. "Why won't you DIE?!"

I bring the lance down upon the Darkness and it crashes up against it. I gasp for air for a few seconds as I stare at it. The dome begins to shake! It rumbles as the blow from my lance reverberates upon the surface of the beast. It shakes violently. "Urrrrrgh… AAAAAAH!"

It… it spoke! No… it yelled! The entire dome shakes violently as if it was a pond and I had thrown the biggest boulder possible directly into the center! "It's… alive!"

I look just over the dome and see it was Sakuyamon who had called out. She's still lying on the ground, her data now streaming upwards but, however, in a significantly less amount! She's being deleted slower with the Darkness present. But… how? I turn my attention back to the Darkness as it shakes with my lance pushing up against it. It's… its changing? It begins to take a different form… a different shape! It shrinks a bit! It begins to actually resemble something! It IS something else! I knew the Darkness couldn't possibly be a dome! But… what is it? First it develops legs… it's very short for a digimon… let alone the Darkness. The legs rise up and connect to its waist… again small in shape for any digimon, let alone one of such massive destruction… the waist rises up into the chest… it moves upwards… an arm takes shape… it's outstretched… away from the rest of the body… a hand appears… the palm is pointed away from me… the fingertips as well… in fact… the entire hand is pointed right at Rika! No! Another arm takes shape as the dome shrinks further and further… it moves towards me and then takes a sharp left (from my view) and as it shapes itself the forearm is what my lance is pushing up against! The rest of the arm forms and a fist is produced… the shoulders take form… the neck emerges as the dome is almost completely gone… it creates… a head! It shapes itself more so… it's creating a… face? Hair appears… its wild. Two eyes take shape and they're closed… two lumps grow out above the eyes, connected to the hairline… ears… a chin… a mouth… oh my God… it's a human… no… it's a boy! It's a… it's a kid. It's a child. A mouth forms… its grimacing… his stance is one of prepared for combat… he's blocking my lance with his forearm… and pointing at Rika with his other hand… he's angry… he… he… he's completely dark… completely covered in darkness. It's… it's a human… it's a boy… it's a child… no… it's a teenager… it opens its eyes… it's… it's… it's…

… It's me.

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I stare blankly at… me. I mean… the Darkness. But… it's me. The teenager that stands blocking my lance with his forearm is me… Takato Matsuda. I grimace, baring my teeth and block Gallantmon's lance with MY right arm… I… I'm fighting off Gallantmon. The Darkness… is… me. I stare at my human self… I stare at myself! I'm… I'm right there. I'm fighting me. My enemy is me. How… how can this be? "URGH! GET OFF ME!"

Suddenly, I throw my arm up and Gallantmon and I take a step back as the force of my push shoves me backwards. I stand limply… staring… into my eyes. "What… what are you?"

I turn my angry grimace around and smiles viciously at me. "I… am the Darkness."

"But… you're…"

"I… am you."

"I know but… how?"

"Silly little boy. Hold on a second, won't I?"

I feel stupefied by his comment. What… does he mean? I turn around, however, and turn my left hand, the one that had been pointed at Rika, inwards so that it's facing me and squeeze my hand into a fist. Suddenly, all the data that had been floating away from Sakuyamon stops floating. It… it's suspended in mid-air! Oh my God! The data actually begins to float _**BACK**_ to Rika! The pieces of data that were going to be deleted begin to form back into her body! How… how is this happening!? "NO! NO! STOP IT! YOU MONSTER!" Rika screams.

I look down at her… I don't know how to feel… grateful the Darkness is saving her… or scared? Suddenly, the pieces of data that had disappeared from not being absorbed begin to reform! They appear out of and into thin air and float downward and back into Sakuyamon's pierced body! As Gallantmon, I still remain standing limply and stare blankly as confusion sets in. How… how is this happening!?

Suddenly, I turn around and look at me. "Hello, Me." The Darkness says.

I stare blankly at me, urgh, I mean the Darkness. But… it's me. Completely covered in darkness… me. Right in front of me. It's me. "What… what are you?" I ask again, still wanting an answer.

"Why, I already told you. I am you. It's me, I." he says with almost a laugh.

"But… how." I ask, still lost.

"Hahahaha, what a fool I am." He says.

"SHUT UP! YOU ARE **NOT** ME!" I scream, frustration blowing inside of me and the red aurora around me explodes into full throttle again.

"Oh… but I am, Takato. I am. You me to tell you that this doesn't make sense to me?"

"I TOLD YOU- YOU ARE NOT ME!" I scream, now furious.

"Calm down, me. I'll explain it all to me." He coolly replies, and smiles devilishly.

I wait in suspense, unsure of exactly what to do. However, before I can think of a course of action to take, I, urgh, I mean, HE begins to talk again, "You see, it all makes sense. I, the Darkness, was born out of what remained of the D-Reaper, if I remember?"

I suppose he means me, and I reply immediately. "What are you talking about? That's completely…

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"_Good. Now, where was I? Ah yes. As you very well know, the D-Reaper wasn't defeated right as soon as it got back to the digital world. Oh no! It took everyone and everything it could with it. No prisoners. Regardless, eventually, it was taken down. However, that is only the beginning. Whatever was left of the D-Reaper… gave way for the Darkness."_

_"The Darkness was born from the ashes of the D-Reaper… spawn from hatred and evil throughout both worlds… powered by the nothingness that engulfs all digimon and humans alike." He said._

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I stopped dead in my tracks. I remember BlackAgumon telling me that… when I first got here. He… he was right. But… what does that have to do with this? "Urgh… ummm… well, actually, that may be true."

He smiles at this. "Good to know I remember. Moving along, well, the D-Reaper's remains, as you can imagine, wanted nothing but revenge for its defeat. The Digimon Sovereigns had brought it back to the Digital World, and the battle from there was for the Digital World to decided. However, it remembered the pathetic humans who had prevented it from complete control over both worlds. More importantly… it remembered the boy who had stood in its way… it remembered that above all else… above all else… it remembered me."

And so, it took refuge in the only place it knew it would be welcomed and appreciated. In Dark Ocean world, which, as you remember from BlackAgumon's speech, was-"

"The place caught between the Real world and the Digital world. We know that already."

"See, I'm finishing my own sentences! And I'm surprised I know so much about my origins." He says mockingly.

I grow angrier, however, I also grow more interested in his speech. I want to know more and more about the Darkness. "Moving along, the remains of the D-Reaper took refuge in the Dark Ocean world- a place based on and home to many feelings of Darkness and hatred, and lies, and such."

"In this world, it was able to create its offspring… something that could carry on its mission of total domination of both the Real world and the Digital world. That, of course, was me. I was born as almost nothing. Living on the energy from the Dark Ocean, and I was thriving! I was powerful… but I wanted _more! _I realized that I could feed on the lies, fears and hatred of both worlds. See, me, it IS useful to be caught in a world between the Real and Digital worlds!" he says with a laugh.

"Ah, but anyway, I grew even stronger with each lie and fear born in real worlds. In the Digital world, Digimon that failed to digivolve surrendered their power over to me unwillingly. However, the most power came from each and every fear, hatred, depression, lie, blood spill, tear drop and etc. that came from the Digidestine… most importantly from the boy who had defeated the Darkness. And so… in a death wish salute to the never ending desires of the D-Reaper, I took the shape of what the Darkness hated the most… me!" he says with a laugh again.

"So… you can change your body at will?" I ask, curious.

"Unfortunately not. I retain only my original form, which you just got a glimpse of, and… the form of Takato Matsuda."

Just over his shoulder I could see the last piece of data come back into Sakuyamon and she was restored. An explosion of data came forth and suddenly Sakuyamon's staff reappeared, lying on the ground on her side. Rika! "But… how did you trap Rika?! How and when did you capture her, and Ryo, and Henry and-"

"Hahahaha. Oh, I never learn, do I? Well, me, I believe to answer that is quite simple. Tell me- what do I remember from when I first came to the digital world?"

When I first came to the digital world? Does he mean when I was in the Valley of the Shadows? "Well… I was really weak, and I collapsed and-"

"No, no. Silly me. I mean before that. What do I remember from when I was hurtling towards the Digital world when I entered the portal?"

When I was hurtling towards the Digital world… what happened then? Well… I remember it was really bright… I had to close my eyes. It was just… bright… but wait… no… I saw something when I opened my eyes… I saw… something…

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_I opened my eyes and the lights were fading from the corners of my eyes… and instead, my vision was clogged with a black menace that lay just ahead. It was a layer of dark glass-like material and I was falling right towards it. I gave little effort to change my course of direction, for it's nearly impossible when you're falling as I am._

_I hit the black 'glass' with such force I find I am suddenly lightheaded._

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"I… saw… glass… black glass. I saw black glass. No… I hit it. I hit it while I was falling… and then I passed out from the impact… I passed out before I even touched ground in the Valley of the Shadows." I saw slowly.

He smiles at this as well. "Ah-ha! Of course you did! Now," he turns and looks at my army. I swear to God if he tries and, "Jeri Katou, now, come forth and tell us what YOU remember from falling into the Dark Ocean world."

Jeri moves out from the crowd slowly and timidly. She stands tall but I have a feeling she's falling apart on the inside. She looks at me… urgh, the Darkness! She looks at the Darkness and seems to be thinking about it…

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_For all that's surrounding my vision from eye level and above me… it is shocking to see what lies below, waiting for us. It is just the opposite- it is complete and utter blackness! I see it is in the shape of a broken window, for around the edges of the black lies what seems to be a white border, and the white leads to more, and more white, however, we're falling straight for the black._

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"We… we didn't hit any 'black glass.' Rika and I… we went through what looked like… what looked like a broken window. The window was black… and the rest of area where we were falling was white… but we fell right through the black broken window. We couldn't change direction."

"Thank you, dear, that will be all." He says with a smile and a vicious laugh.

He turns around and looks at me. "I see, me, I created a rather huge problem! By falling through the portal first, I broke the 'black glass' and went right on through to the Digital world. Luckily for me, I ended up in the Valley of the Shadows and I supplied all the information I needed to BlackAgumon."

"What do you mean, I supplied information to…"

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"_I got separated from the rest of my friends."  
"And your friends, were they humans as well?" he asked me.  
"Yes. But, why does that matter?"  
"It doesn't. Proceed."  
"Well… I guess I just lost them. They were coming in through the portal after me… or… at least I hope they were."  
"What portal?"  
"Oh, um… well, ya see, there was this portal in my world that led us to the digital world."  
"I see… go on."  
"Well, I went ahead of them, and I just assumed they followed, and now we're separated."  
"Well… that's all I need to know. I'll try and help you find your friends, but I can't make any promises."_

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"Oh my God… I damned us all." I said, realizing my huge mistake.

"Ah-ha! And I finally see the truth! I see, by telling BlackAgumon all about how the other digidestine were on their way, I knew to prepare for them in the Dark Ocean world."

"YOU KNEW!?" I explode.

"But of course! See, me, that 'black glass' that I broke? Well, that was the barrier separating the Dark Ocean world and the Real world. By falling through the portal, I broke the barrier and left it wide open for the others. By breaking the barrier, it created a rift in the space between the Real world and the Digital world and made it impossible to go straight from one to the other. So, when the other digidestine came forth… they fell straight into the Dark Ocean world- where my trap lay waiting for them."

"You… you set a trap?!" I yell, distraught at the abundance of information being presented to me. The importance of such insignificant events… how could this happen?!

"Yes, and what a trap it was! And it worked to perfection. See, me, I created an illusion to fool the other digidestine. In their eyes, I created a cave for them to explore in. Luckily for I, the three that entered were the most important- Mr. Akiyama, Mr. Wong, and, most importantly, Ms. Nonaka."

"I illusion them to think that Mr. Wong's younger sister was inside the cave and calling their names for help. Naturally, they were off to the rescue… rather, their own demise. As they got further and further into the cave, "Suzy's" voice got farther and farther away. Ms. Nonaka realized it was a trap however," he says and looks at the unconscious Sakuyamon. I don't know when, or how she got be unconscious, but she is. "she realized it, just a _**tad**_ too late."

"The three of them were trapped in the sand in the cave. Then Darkness energy wrapped them up and began to strangle them whole!" he says with another laugh.

No. No! My… Rika. Caught… trapped… by the Darkness… by me! "And so, the process began of destroying their willpower. They were shown their worst memories and fears until they willingly asked me for death. Alas, however, there was one unforeseen flaw in my brilliant plan."

He looks down at Rika again, "Ms. Nonaka was able to break free of my binds. It seems that her resilience to be killed prevented me from being successful. Her heart was pure, as it seemed, and beautiful memories from within her created a light that pierced my Darkness and set the three free before I could kill them."

"You were going to kill them!" I scream aghast.

"But of course. They would have been much easier to use in their Darkness forms. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful. The light within Ms. Nonaka overthrew the Darkness binds that held them down. However, it exploded from within her and she was completely drained of all of her energy… as well as of all of her willpower. Mr. Akiyama an Mr. Wong were taken over as well, and unfortunately my cave illusion was also destroyed. A cheap sacrifice for control on the most important pieces of my plan."

"Rika lead the rest of the Digidestine to Digital World, where I met up with them again. Unfortunately, BlackWargreymon was unable to kill me, despite attacking me head on."

"Wait… I remember that…"

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_I looked up in disbelief that I had been capable of surviving such a blast! The others could now see me standing up, and I wondered what they were now thinking? They had just watched me blow through a rock wall by an attack by a mega level digimon, but when the dust cleared, they only saw me standing tall, where the blast had stopped. I pushed myself forward, but almost immediately I felt the pain in my every fiber return, and I felt as if I would die on the spot._

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"Ah yes. I survived the attack and that is where the connection between you and I is made, me. It seems that in my human form, only I can kill me. We are forever connected as humans, and because I created BlackWargreymon, his attacks on me were useless and I survived- however in my human form I cannot attack with the same abilities."

"It all makes sense now!"

"Yes, I'm sure it makes sense to me now. As I know from there, I had Ms. Nonaka break my heart by breaking up with me and thus putting myself out of commission as the leader of my group of digidestine-"

"Until ANOTHER flaw appeared!" I jumped in, thinking of Rika arriving in my dreams. "Rika, Henry, and Ryo we're alive. So you just trapped them inside their own bodies and had the Darkness them control their bodies. But you couldn't have them control their minds! So, when I slept, Rika was able to escape her Darkness her and talk to me! She was able to tell me about what was happening! I knew the real Rika wouldn't do what she did or act the way she did! She gave us the information we needed to fight back by telling us that it wasn't the real them!"

He claps his hands for a few seconds and then begins talking again, "Congratulation, me, I never thought I knew so much. But there is still more to this story. My desire for revenge against BlackWargreymon has been my downfall. I've made it impossible for myself to fight me by this desire and hatred. I was even unable to fight at all against BlackWargreymon the second time!"

I realize he must mean 'me' and I remember it clearly…

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_I brought my sword up to its fullest height, and prepared to bring him down, with or without his attempts to fight back, when it happened. I couldn't feel my arms. I couldn't feel my legs. I couldn't feel anything._

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He… he had control over me. But how? "How was it that you controlled me then? How was that made possible?"

"Ah-ah-ah. Tsk, tsk, Me. I know I can't tell me that! That would ruin all my fun."

What!? I have no idea what he means anymore! He keeps referring to himself in the first person and it's getting on my nerves! He opens his mouth to talk again, "So, I sent my army to attack me. Unfortunately, they have failed miserably not once, nor twice but thrice. Yet I in the midst of all this I offered me the chance to be engulfed in me."

"No!" I say, in shock of realization.

"Yes!" he responds.

"You… you were the voice. You were the voice telling me to kill. You were the voice telling me I could have the power to defeat the Darkness… but… how?"

"Unfortunately, I did not take the 'power' and I will be unable to destroy me with that. 'The power' would not defeat me… the 'power' was to be used defeat BlackWargreymon… not the Darkness…"

That entire conversation… it had been with him! He… he had been the one trying to seduce me to take 'the power.' He had been trying to… to draw me in so that I would _willingly give myself up_ and be turned into… him! Of course!

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'I can give it all to you!'_  
What? Who… who was that?_

'I can give you the power… the power to destroy BlackWargreymon. The power to fight the Darkness!'_  
Wh-what!? What's going on?! Who… who's talking to me?_

'Why… It's 'me'! 'I'… am 'you'! Soon enough, though, I'll be 'me.' I'll become none other than 'you!'  
_Wh-what do you mean!? Tell me who you are! RIGHT NOW!_

'A-ah-ah. Calm down. Don't you want me to help you to fight the Darkness? And save Rika?'  
_Rika!? Rika! Y-yes. I… I want to save Rika. I want that more than anything! What do I have to do? Just tell me and I'll do it! What do I have to do!?_

'Just tear all the others apart. Once you're the last one standing, there won't be a problem.'  
_How!? How can I do that?! I can't even beat BlackWargreymon, how am I supposed to beat him and everyone else in the Darkness' army?_

'Here. I'll give you 'power.' Then you'll be able to match even the Darkness- blow for blow.'  
_Y-yes! That… that is what I want! Give me the 'power!' Do it! Do it n-_

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Never had he promised to give me the 'power' to defeat the Darkness… but simply to be able to match it- blow for blow. And of course he would do that! I was already going to match him blow for blow! It was such a perfect trick… but he failed! "Unfortunately for you, once again your plan flawed and you lost out!"

"This is unfortunate, however, regardless, the failures of my Darkness Warriors- ChaosJustimon, BlackWargreymon and BlackSakuyamon- have lead me to this point. It is now, after all of this winding road, and after all of the explanation that I will have to do battle with me."

What?! Battle? With him?! Now?! "You… want to fight US!" I say, with Guilmon at my side. If we're gonna do this… we have to do it together.

"Of course. But… first things first: Let's get rid of this silly little costume." He says.

He holds his hand up and points his palm at me. No way is he getting the first shot in! If he wants to fight… right now, so suddenly, then I'll give him a hell of a fight! I raise my lance above my head and begin to bring it down-

_VRUGH!_

A wave of black energy is shot at us. No actual energy is shot but it feels like a gigantic gust of wind blown right at Guilmon and I. Before I can even think of what just happened I feel an emptiness in my stomach and I feel desert air hit my face. What… what just happened? I look down at my… HANDS?!

I look down at my feet and I'm in my shoes! Oh crap… oh crap… OH CRAP!? I turn around and see Guilmon on his knees. He smiles awkwardly and says, "Sorry, Takatomon."

"Egh… don't worry about it, boy." I respond just as awkwardly. This is not a good situation to be in!!

"Well, Takato, I'm afraid it's game over now." the Darkness says to me.  
I turn around again and face him. Uh-oh. "Umm… someone HELP!" I scream, as he raises his palm up again!  
"STOP IT!" I hear someone scream.

I turn and see Beezlemon flying at full speed over towards him! MetalSeadramon goes crashing into the ground and begins to "swim" over towards us. Puppetmon begins running as well and HiAndromon follows suit, with MarineAngemon following up in the rear.

The Darkness turns around and smiles at them viciously. Beezlemon doesn't even bother firing an attack but as he comes upon the Darkness he raises his big gun to bring it down upon him. However, just as he's about to bring it down, the Darkness raises his hand up into the air and seems to just CONTROL Beezlemon and slings him away from him! Puppetmon is upon him next. He swings his hammer around to try and hit him and the Darkness simply puts his hand up like a 'Stop' sign and Puppetmon halts his movement. He holds his palm up like he had done to me! Oh no! He smiles viciously again but before he can fire his wave the ground below him explodes and MetalSeadramon comes up from the ground below him and sends him airborne! "River of Power!" The energy blast takes off right for the Darkness!

Just before it hits, however, a black funnel is shot out of the Darkness' hand and the two shots meet and cancel one another out! The Darkness has great abilities, but he's got even more enemies! A surge of pink hearts suddenly appear and finally we land a hit on him! The hearts all explode on contact with him but when the smoke clears he is floating on his way back down to earth- unscathed! He touches ground and turns in time to see HiAndromon come thundering at him! Once again, however, he lifts his hand up and stops him in his tracks, however, this time he swiftly moves his hand to the right and HiAndromon goes flying! He… he's just toying with my best allies! And I'm useless to do anything!

Suddenly, MetalSeadramon explodes from the ground behind him and goes to dive bomb him! He looks up and sees a diving MetalSeadramon and raises his hands up just in time! No! MetalSeadramon struggles desperately to break free of the Darkness' hold on him. His nose is pointed directly over the Darkness, who seems to be struggling himself with the Mega sea dragon. "Urgh… ah… River… of… POWER!"

Suddenly MetalSeadramon's nose grows bright and the laser **crushes** the Darkness beneath it's fury and MetalSeadramon crashes into the ground! Yes! He rises up into the air, however in an attempt to try and escape… but… why? Suddenly, twenty or thirty lines of black energy are seen blasting forth and striking MetalSeadramon all over! The dust clears again and the Darkness stands tall, watching as his prey falls to the ground in defeat… oh no! He turns his attention to me. What is he gonna do?! He begins to walk towards me before I hear, "ATOMIC RAY!"

Two nuclear blasts come flying at him but he raises his hand up just in time and both of them deflect… right back at HiAndromon. I watch in horror as the only course of action he goes about is putting his arms up in an 'X' to defend himself! He's struck and flown backwards! The Darkness watches his prey fall before turning back towards me. He gets another few steps in and is now only twenty yards away when Beezlemon comes flying at him! He raises his hand up and whatever power he has over my allies is enforced again as Beezlemon goes flying off again and now is located a few yards in front of me and about ten yards off to my right! He looks up at me for a second but then buries his head into the sand in defeat!

I watch as MarineAngemon comes flying at him but he puts his hand up and blows him far away and he hits the floor quickly. Five down… one to go! Where is-

Puppetmon suddenly appears directly in front of me… standing between the Darkness and myself. The Darkness puts his right hand up, turns it inward and curls all of his fingers inward quickly and Puppetmon involuntarily flies at him! He grabs the Mega puppet by the collar with his right hand. He raises his left hand to his side and

_**BOOM!**_ He slaps Puppetmon across the face and lets go at the same instant and sends him flying head first through a canyon wall off in the distance. That… that's it. There's no more. Gallantmon is gone. Beezlemon is face down in the sand. HiAndromon is out of commission. MarineAngemon is off somewhere I can't see. MetalSeadramon is motionless in the sand, and Puppetmon is probably ready to be absorbed a mile away! The Darkness turns his attention to me once again and continues his walk towards me. He's getting closer and closer with each second. I can't conceive in the slightest plan! I… I'm just so finished! I can't come up with **anything**! He's getting closer! He's ten yards away! What do I do?! How do I defend myself! He raises his right hand up and snaps his fingers. Suddenly, ChaosJustimon, BlackWargreymon, and Sakuyamon- all unconscious- are all lifted off the ground. They float there and are then surrounded by a black aurora. No! Rika! Sakuyamon is shocked with electricity and then transforms back into… back into BlackSakuyamon. The three Megas explode into data and then they're gone. "What… what did you do with them?!"

"Hehehe, just sent them home so they can rest. Once I'm dead, then I'll just freshen them up some and prepare total annihilation of both worlds."

He stops barely a foot in front of. "On your knees, boy." He says, with more command in his voice then ever.

"I'll never." I respond, still trying to come up with a plan… but this is kinda bad.

"I _**said**_…" he raises his right hand and makes it into a fist and bring his fist down to his side. My knees give way involuntarily and I fall to them. I stare up at him and hang my head to the ground. There must be a way out of this… there MUST be! "… **on your knees,** **boy**. Good, now, where was I? Ah, yes."

I look up to him and he raises his right arm up into the air. Suddenly, a lance… no! My lance appears! A black lance appears in his hand and his arm forms into Gallantmon's… only… it's not. It's black instead. "Do I like it? I do."

I stare up at it. He… he's going to kill me with my own weapon. "See, me, this is not Gallantmon's lance. I guess I lied earlier. I **can** take one other form- ChaosGallantmon. And, as I'm seeing right now, this is his lance. Do I like it?"

He looks at me questioningly. I just stare up in a look that's a mix of disgust and horror. Okay… I'm officially open to anyone ideas for how to escape. I continue to look up until he stops smiling that devilish smile and grows angry, "Alright… time to die, Takato!"

He raises the lance up over his head… okay… this is gonna hurt… a lot. He smiles viciously. He brings it down. I close my eyes and-

"UGH!"

I open my eyes and look into his eyes. His eyes are undilated… they're smaller. His jaw hangs open. His lance is slung over his shoulder. What… what just happened?! He looks down at his own leg, as do I and I'm met with a beautiful sight!

Lodged halfway up his leg is two bullets that have penetrated the skin and blue blood is slowly pouring out of the Darkness' lower leg! I look up at him as he opens his mouth to scream… but suddenly he explodes into data himself and is blown away into the wind!

What just happened?! I turn and see Beezlemon smile at me, and then bury his head in the sand again, his arm extended with his gun pointed at where the Darkness' leg had been… just a moment ago. He… he had done it! Beezlemon had saved me! He… he's done it!

I sit up in the sand and look around. Parts of the walls from the Valley of the Shadows rolls back as I stare around distraught. The destruction from this day is incredible. I… I can't believe I walked away alive. The damage is done… now it's time to fix it.

Carnage… everywhere! But… now it's time to rebuild. Time to regroup and rest. Now we know the truth… now we know everything. I've lost Rika again… but I've gained a huge advantage in understanding who and what my enemy is. It's time to fight back. It's time to turn the tables. I no longer fear the Darkness anymore. After all… it is me.

What's there to be afraid of?

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A/N: Wow. Awesome chapter. I tied a lot of pieces of the plot together. I really hope you all liked it, because it was a great write for me. It was actually kinda hard to do the whole 'first person only' point of view for Darkness Takato, but it was necessary because it's suppose to show the kind of evil that he's composed of. First person. All about him. Look out for number one, only. Everyone else is just a number. Also, it was kinda sinister if you ask me. While you're reading it to try and decipher who he means by "I" and "me" and such. It was kinda fun but annoying when I forgot to and had to do it all over again. And congrats to me! The longest chapter of my writing career! Yay! The story itself without either 'A/N:' was 8,236! By **FAR** the longest ever for me. So yeah, 5 reviews or no more of this. And really… who wouldn't want to find out what happens from here on out? You guys better review. All right, I'm out of here. Hope everyone enjoys. Okay, peace!

Love Always. Rukato Forever.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"  
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	18. Our War Game Is Over

A/N: The long awaited return of the Notorious… P. A. T. Love and be loved. Read… and review!

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Our War Game (Is Over)

_When I wake up tomorrow morning… the greatest finish to any play ever written will be under way. I will be fighting mysel__f in way__s I never imagined. Rika wants to die and I saw today that I can't kill her… but what choice do I have left? The Darkness will kill both of us if I fail. Tomorrow may very well be my final day on earth… perhaps now might be a good time to take… inventory? Outpowered. Outnumbered. Out of our minds. On a suicide mission. But the sands and rock here, stained with thousands of years of warfare… they will remember us. For this. Because out of all our vast array of nightmares, this is the one we choose for ourselves. We go forth like a breath exhaled from the earth. With vigor in our hearts and one goal in sight:_

_We._

_Will._

_Kill him._

_But to kill him, I first have to kill myself. The final act begins tomorrow and with the rising sun so shall the curtain be raised on a most tumultuous show. The battle for the digital world has only just begun, and I will lead my cavalry into an assault the likes the Darkness has never seen. I will go forth into this war with the desire and courage with which no one else can fight. I will be unrelenting. I will go forth and rescue Rika and Henry and Ryo. Only I can save them and the rest of the digital world from the Darkness. Only I, because it was only I who created this mess. Born from the vengeance against me because I defeated the D-Reaper… empowered by my fears, tears, anger and depression… manipulating me … intruding on my thoughts… knowing my every move… enslaving my closest friends in their own bodies…destroying everything about the digital world that I have ever known and loved. This will go no further. The Darkness must be stopped and it is only I who can stop him._

_I go to sleep in the hope that while I dream… Rika will guide me through this nightmare… so that when I wake… I will guide Rika from her nightmare.

* * *

_

_"What do you think she's going through?"  
_What… what's that voice? I hear it… and it's so close… but…  
_"Intense pain, I'd bet. She'd probably rather be dead but she gave it her all…"  
_What! Another voice? Who else is here?  
"…I owe my life to her… and now we might never be able to repay her…"  
What? What's going on? I fly open my eyes and am greeted by the sight of Ri-

"Hello, Takato." Ryo says softly to me.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it, old buddy?" Henry adds.

I stare in disbelief as my two pals stand in front of me, and smile. The wind blows their hair around and I am at a loss for words, but the thought I can conjure up is—

"Rika can't come here anymore, Takato." Henry says quietly.  
"What! Why not?" I ask them immediately.  
"She's grown too weak. She doesn't have enough willpower left to break free of her chains and race to your dreams. She wanted us to come for her so we could give you her message." Henry solemnly says.

"But wait… does that mean—"  
"She _is_ alive." Ryo interjects.  
"But—"  
"She's going to be fine, damn it, Takato, shut up! We need to relay this message to you before our time runs up as well and if we don't get it to you then it will all be for naught!" Henry exclaims.

I shut my mouth immediately and try to stop my thoughts from straying, remembering that, as Rika pointed out on several occasions, somehow they can hear my thoughts. I can't lose her… whatever they have to tell me must be extremely important and I can't let the fear of losing Rika drive the importance of their appearance out of my mind.

"Rika wanted us to first convey and emphasize her previous message; Takato… you **must **kill us." Ryo explains.

My eyes fly wide open and my minds begins to race but before I can ask a question, Henry gives me a stern look and I know that I would do myself better to shut up and keep listening. "We don't know what's going to happen when you kill us… but you have to defeat The Darkness and all of us are playing a role in his plans. As long as we live, our bodies stand in between you and him and that will simply not do. We have to be taken out… you **don't** have a choice anymore. Kill us and then defeat The Darkness."

Ryo stops talking and I just stare in disbelief… everything that he's saying is…

"So true. I know. You can't resist anymore. You can't hold back. Can't pull your punches… can't do anything. You _have_ to act. You have to fight. You have to kill us. It's the only way." Ryo commands of me.

"But… what if I can't?"

He smiles and shakes his head at me, "Don't be a fool. You can do it. We know you can. I know you can, at least. You've been kicking my ass out there, and I've never been happier."

I give him a big smile and am not sure exactly what to say, but he interjects, "I just keep rooting you on while you throw ChaosJustimon around. I know you wanna kill me, so just follow through. But don't underestimate him… he's been pulling his own punches this whole time, trying to lull you into a false sense of security when you battle him. He wants you to think you can kill him easily when you can't really. Just…" he pauses, perhaps looking for the right words, "when you have him down for the count… finish me. I don't want to continue fighting you… he hurts me… it pains me to watch you strain yourself against Justimon and myself when you shouldn't have to deal with it."

He smiles at me and I stare back him with a determined look on my face, "Make me the first to go."  
"What!" I say, surprised.

"Kill me first. Of the three of us… I want you to promise that I will be the first to go. Start with the best and work your way down, ya know?" he says with a wink.  
I smile and laugh a bit at his wink but say, "I don't know if I can promise that… I've made a lot of dumb promises to Rika and"  
"It doesn't matter. Eventually you're gonna follow through with those promises. You can do it, and I… we, believe in you."

I stare at him and try and size him up. How do you respond when someone tells you to kill them? When someone defiantly tells you that murdering them is in your own best interest? I don't know if I have what it takes to take a life… what if they don't come back? What if they're gone forever?

"Don't worry about any of that, Takato. Just make me proud."

I smile but am uncertain. "Alright, well my part is finished. I'm gonna head back so hopefully I can have some willpower for the next trip. Good luck you two, and keep a keen ear to what Henry he has got to say, Takato." He says to me before suddenly taking a step forward and wrapping his arms around me in a hug.

Out of shock I don't return the embrace, but I suppose that's alright since he can read my mind. He let's go, gives Henry a nod and then turns around and begins to walk away and for the first time I take notice of my surroundings. I looked down towards the ground and far below us was a castle with a moat and surrounding the castle was a black desert. "Scary, isn't it?"

I looked up at Henry, who was also observing the scene below. My mind races as I stare down at the scene. What could this all possibly mean? I just don't—"Understand, Takato, that what you are looking at right now is shared with the Darkness. Your visions are somehow intermingled with what the Darkness is thinking. You are the Darkness, never forget that. He is everything that you are not. But you share a bond with him. By some strange way… your minds are connected. Somehow… somehow this castle and this moat and this desert are going to play a part in what will unfold."

My mind begins to race again but I try to shut it down because I know I need to listen to what Henry has to say. "I don't have any answers for you. I just know what I know… that this is all going to be important in the next chapter of your battle with the Darkness. But… ugh, Takato…" he trails off.

He looks a bit distraught. He looks like what he wants to say won't come out in words. "I am… so sorry that all of this has had to happen. If only… there's just so much that we… I could have done to prevent this."

"There's nothing you could have done, Henry. I feel like this whole trip back to the digital world… it was all a trap set up by the Darkness. Like you said, somehow he and I are connected… maybe the very adventure… the ideas, the plans the everything… maybe it was all him telling me how to go about it, just so these specific events could take place."

He looks very upset now. He stares out into space and after a few seconds' shakes his head at his thoughts. I can't imagine what he's putting himself through. The mental beating he's giving himself. He shouldn't be so worried about this. This is my battle, not his. I don't know what to say to him. "You don't need to say anything, Takato. It's not your fault that this all happened. But you need to understand, that you didn't start this… but you have to be the one to finish this. It's up to you to find a way to defeat the Darkness. And Rika and Ryo… they're right. You need to kill us. It's the only way. It's the only way."

We stare for a few seconds, eye to eye. I never want to break my gaze with him. I stare into the windows to his soul and I want to dive into them. He wants to help me so bad, but there is nothing he could say nor do for me. I understand. I'm starting to see it now… it's up to me. I have to be the one. I have to do this. For them. For Rika. For the entire Digital World… for myself.

The sky becomes overcast and the all too familiar feeling sets in. I can feel myself being swept away, but my body remains in the same place, staring into the Henry's eyes. "Takato… I believe in you. You can do it."

I nod my head. I feel the pulling. I close my eyes. When I open them again, I am in my tent. I sit up and look around, fully awake and knowing completely what is to come about. I feel fresh. I feel alive. I slowly climb out of my tent into the night. I look around at the army that surrounds me. I look at all of them. I know…

This is it!

The morning blasts through the darkness. As norm in the digital world, there is no sunrise but only a swift change in the skyline from night to morning. I can feel it coming in the air… I can feel the momentum shifting from side to side… this is our war… this is ours! I will not be defeated by the Darkness. He is me and I am him. I will destroy him to free Rika and Henry and Ryo.

The image of Ryo smiling at me and winking, telling me it was all alright. That he was okay with me killing him. He was so brave. I would answer this call. I would. I will. I am.

* * *

Buzzing. Everything is buzzing. Everyone is buzzing.

It's now a few hours since daybreak, and as I stare out into the horizon everyone is coming alive. The rumblings across camp are a mixture of many different emotions. Excitement over the victory yesterday. Mourning for lost family and friends. Fear from the first close up encounter of any kind with The Darkness. Most were so convinced that I would die that they are still in disbelief of Beezelmon's heroics that just merely saved me. There's just a large mixture of different emotions revolving yesterdays events. But tensions are running high. Everyone is wired after what happened and they're all well aware how close they came to death with The Darkness so close and so close to killing me.

I break my gaze on the horizon and look to find Impmon, looking disconcerted and making a Beeline straight for me. As he gets within earshot he says to me, "We need to talk…"

Talk? Talk about what? He seems almost worried about whatever it is. What could possibly have him discomforted right now? He walks right past me and I turn heel to follow him. We get about 10 feet away and he stops in his tracks, climbs on top of a rock and turns tail to face me. "We have a problem."

_A problem?_ "What's wrong?"

He looks bothered by what he has to say, but continues on, "What happened yesterday?"  
"What do you mean what happened? You saw what I saw." I say defensive, as if he is accusing me of something but he didn't really, did he?  
"Takato, you have to be real with me… did you or do you have a helping hand in The Darkness's plans to destroy our world."  
"What are you trying to say, Impmon?" I almost yell at him.  
"I'm saying that me and everyone else here saw _two _of you yesterday and one of them is trying to destroy our world!" He thunders back.

"And the other one is trying to save your world! And Rika! And Henry! And RYO!" I finally give in and start yelling at him, as the image of Ryo's face in my dream comes flashing back to me.

"The one thing I have been fighting for years now, running from, going to **war **with is you! I've been plotting strategies and putting every on the line to fight YOU!"  
"No! You've been fighting The Darkness, not me!"  
"But you heard him, HE is YOU!"  
"Stop it. I am not him. This conversation is over." I say, turning to walk away.

"_**NO!**_" He yells demonically and a fire burst up in front of me! I fall backwards away from it and watch it circle the two of us.

I turn around to see his eyes lit up in blackness. I twist around and stand back up, before saying, "Impmon… you don't want to do this. Not with me. Not now."

His eyes stop glowing black and he stares at me with fury, "We have lost… so much… fighting you… _because _of you!"

"Impmon… relax," I say, putting my arms up in a sign of peace, knowing he's in over his head right now, "Listen… you've put up a hell of a fight and you've come a long way and now we're almost at the end. Just hang on a little longer."

"If I have to kill you to kill him I will."

"What…"

"I'll kill you."

There is a long silence between the two of us as we stare at one another. My mouth hangs open as he continues to stare with a sense of unquenchable fury. He's seeing red. "BADDA BOOM!"

I fly backwards, hit the sand and my chest is on fire! "Ahh! Ahhh! Get it off! Help! Help!" I roll around trying to suffocate the flames and extinguish the fire. He blasted me right onto my ass and set me on fire!

I put it out and stand up looking at him horrified. He stares at me, still seeing red. Before I know what's happening we are surrounded by the digidestine and an assortment of high ranking digimon. As others slowly push us away from each other I continue to stare him in the eyes with insecurity as the anger in his eyes is unmoving. He saved my life… and now he wants to destroy me.

With everything that's just happened between Impmon and myself, I've all but forgot what happened in my dream with Ryo and Henry. What had he said? That I need to kill them, and Ryo wants to be the first to go. And Henry… what had he said about that scene… it was a castle with a moat and a black desert surrounding it. What could that all mean? He said that my mind is connected with the Darkness and somehow everything I saw in that scene is significant. Think about it… castle… moat… black desert. Well, I think I have a pretty good idea of what the black desert is, but what about the rest of it? The castle and the moat? Well the moat surrounds the castle and the desert surrounds the moat, so maybe at the center of the Valley of the Shadows is a castle with a moat?

No, that's too easy. What could it be? Fuck. I have no idea and if I can't figure it out then we're all doomed!

"Takatomon!"  
I look up and Guilmon is trotting over to me. "Hey, boy. What's up?"  
"Someone wants to speak to you!"  
"Not now, boy, I'm trying to focus…"  
"But it's Metalseadramon…"  
"I told you, Guilmon…" _Metalseadramon. Metal Sea Dragon Monster. Sea. Ocean. Water. Moat._

I stare wide eyed. I look right past Guilmon and stare at Metalseadramon, off in the distance. I slowly start to stand up and then lurch forward and go into an all-out-sprint for Metalseadramon, as if he was in danger of disappearing to being destroyed before I could get there. "Metalseadramon!"

He snaps his giant head to look at me, "Yes, Takato Matsuda, what is it?"

"You said yesterday that you and your troops came as soon as you could?" I ask, waiting for him to affirm exactly what I'm thinking.  
"That we did, and it is my sincerest apologies we could not arrive sooner."  
"And that implies that you had a long distance to cover?" I continue on, ignoring his apology.  
"Why, yes, we did. We came all the way from the Western Region as quickly as we could."

Western Region? What does that even mean? "Ahh… ahh… but… wait, what? What do you mean Western Region?"

"You freed us, Takato Matsuda." He says sincerely.  
I stare up at him blankly. Freed him? _Freed_ him? "What?"  
"You surely must know. How could you not?"  
"Enlighten me." I say quickly, my curiosity ravishing my mind.

"Well, we were part of the Lightness Army before we were overrode by The Darkness' walls and then we all became pawns in his plans. Then you pushed the walls back and set us free. Without that, we'd still be under his control and at his mercy. How did you not know that you freed us?"

_Pushed the walls back… _That's happened twice since we arrived. It happened when we fought off BlackWargreymon and ChaosJustimon the first time and then again, just last night! When Beezelmon sent The Darkness packing. But Metalseadramon and his army have been here since we fought BlackSakuyamon, so it had to have happened after the first time they were pushed back. So whom did we free last night?

_Castle and Moat!_

"Wait, Metalseadramon, where did you come from? Was there water there? Or a castle?"

He laughs for a second or two. What's so funny? "You would think that, wouldn't you? That I, a Metalseadramon, would come from water but ahh, no, no, nothing of the sort. And no castles for that matter either. Why do you ask, Takato Matsuda?"

"Oh, um, no reason." I say weakly. No water? No castle? How could that be?  
"To answer your question, however, we came from the Western Regions but specifically King Gallant's City."  
My neck nearly breaks as I sharply shoot my gaze to look at him, "King Gallant's City? What is that?"

"Well, it is named after you. It was where Guilmon crash landed back in the Digital World after his battles with the D-Reaper in your world. Over the years a city was built around it and named after the hero of the war against the D-Reaper. It just so happens, as well, that Guilmon's Ground Zero was the remnants of an old kingdom belonging to an Seraphimon many, many years before. That is why the "King" part stuck in the cities title."

"Perfect! Thank you! That's all I needed to know!" I yell as I turn tail and run.  
"But I never thanked you for welcoming us into your army!" He calls after me.  
"You don't have to!" I yell back to him.

King Gallant's City. Named after Guilmon, who crash-landed in King Seraphimon's former kingdom and then a city was built upon it. So that's the castle, and I know what the black desert was, so now we just have to figure out what the water stands for and then we're in perfect position to go knocking down the Darkness' door.

* * *

I stare deep into Impmon's eyes for the 2nd time today, although this time with protection in case he has another outburst as Jeri, Kazu, Kenta and Suzy stand around me, along with Guilmon, MarineAngemon, Guardromon and Lopmon. "So, as you can see the only thing that's missing is the moat. The water. Where is the closest water? I'm willing to bet that wherever it is, we freed that area last night."

"You are _so_ sure that this isn't a trap." He spits back.  
"How could it be?" I retort.

"If you really are connected to the Darkness' mind, then who says he can't see into your mind and play with that as well? If you can look into his mind and know what's going on in there then where is the authority in your dreams telling you he can't see into your mind and plan accordingly? How do you know he didn't plant that image into your mind to set a trap he's just waiting to spring on all of us?"

"I… don't know." I have no answers for him. I can't respond to that.

"Then why are we rushing to get to an abandoned city and the closest body of water?"

"Because… it's the only thing we've got to go off of! And if it is a trap then let's walk into it. Let's face this thing head on, let's take his best shot and beat it! If it is a trap then let's spring it and then break it."

"That's the worst idea ever." He says.

"Then you come up with a better one. Go on. You spent years fighting this thing and only lost more and more. But since we arrived we've at least fought back."  
"I lost hundreds of thousands of good digimon because of you!" He says, a mix of anger and sadness in his eyes.  
"And we're going to save them!" I yell back.

There is a long silence between the two of us as everyone just stares at the battle that is brewing in front of their very eyes. "Takato is right, Impmon," Jeri interjects. "But if we're actually going to defeat the Darkness then we're going to need your help."

He looks at her with a curios expression, as if he's accepting what she says but his mind is thinking something else. "There's a lake of water to the East of here and I noticed last night that the walls moved that way so your dream would make sense."

"Yes! Perfect, let's get everybody ready then!" I say, turning to walk away  
"Not so fast." He stops me.

I turn back around slowly. "What?"

"I refuse for what's left of the Lightness Army to be lead into an ambush. Only Takato and I will travel to King Gallant's City."

"No way!" Kazu exclaims.  
"Forget about, Impmon. That's not happening!" Kenta declares.  
"Impmon, don't you think that's asking a bit much? Especially after today's outburst." Jeri tries to reason with him.

"No, Jeri, I don't think it is too much to ask." I say.

Everyone turns and stares at me. "You're not going to trust me," I say to Impmon, "until I've proven myself again."  
No one says anything. They just stares at the war we are waging with our eyes. "We'll go to King Gallant's City. Just you and me, and we'll figure out what's there for us. No one else will come with us. Just you and me."

* * *

The silence between us is suffocating. I think would rather have him trying to kill me than have us not saying anything like this. We've been walking on this road for a long time now, Beezlemon and I but we can see the city on the horizon now. No one objected to us going it alone, but there was some uncertainty as to who would lead the journey to the water to the east and ultimately Kazu was given the reigns. I look at Beezlemon and his determined gaze is on the city. It is quite an industrial city; skyscrapers touching the heavens, paved roads clearly panning across city, I feel like we're walking into New York City or more like Las Vegas because we are traveling through a desert to reach the seemingly deserted city.

We reach the first few buildings and I can't handle this silence anymore, "This is just eerie. It shouldn't be this quiet in a city like this."  
Beezlemon scoffs and says, "You seem surprised. This city's been under Darkness captivity for months now. I would be more concerned if there _was_ someone here."  
That makes sense and I nod in agreement. "What exactly are you trying to find here?" He asks me as we traverse the city streets.  
What **am** I trying to find here? "I'm not sure. But there's something here. I know it."  
"That's dangerously unspecific." He responds, looking at me sideways as we cross an intersection.  
"I understand that, but there _is_ something here for us. There has to be."  
We go on a little bit without saying anything, not really searching the city just slowly marching through it. Looking around, it's hard to imagine there's anything for us. And even if there is, where could it be? Inside one of the buildings? Buried in a bedroom somewhere? What _are_ we doing here?  
We venture onward and eventually come to a stop in the center of a large intersection of eight streets. Beezlemon turns to me and says, "How will you know when we find it?"  
There is a trust in his voice for the first time and a reassuring feelings sweeps over me, "When we find it."

_"Well, I believe you've found it."_ An ominous, distant voice calls out.

_That voice!_ We both turn to look around searching for the source but it's nowhere to be found. _**BOOM!  
**_The granite flies up in my face and clouds my vision as Beezlemon's face is lost in the dust. Suddenly, however, I see his black claws slicing through the dust and then with one swoop he flushes it all out. I look down at the ground and in the small space laying between him and I is where the blast had landed. Why blow up the space between us? Why not try to kill us?

I look up into the sky and BlackWargreymon is standing on top of a nearby building, smirking at us. I shake my head at him, "You always come back for more."

He seems pissed off at this. He lifts his claw up and before I know it a blast of red and black is zipping towards me. I dodge it to my left and over my shoulder I see a black ball of energy go zooming at him. He simply throws up his hand and deflects the blast off into the distance. It strikes a skyscraper in the distance and an explosion in the upper half of it goes off when he takes off.

_**BUGH!**_ I double over as he buries his fist in my gut. I stagger backwards but recover and thrust my lance at him.

He dodges it slightly to his right and lifts his arm up and traps my lance against his body. He pulls on the lance and I involuntarily fall forward towards him and he buries his fist this time in my face.

I fall to the ground all I see are BlackWargreymon's feet moving away, towards where Beezlemon was standing. I stop rolling, and go to one knee in time to see Beezlemon fending off BlackWargreymon with an 'X' made of his arms. They exchange blows quickly and I go to help but BlackWargreymon senses me coming, turns and delivers a blow to my chest! I go flying backwards and land on my back. I watch as he returns to fist fighting Beezlemon. I shake off some of the pain and look at my shield. Suddenly the idea dawns on me. I lift up my shield so that it sits in my lap and whisper, "Shield of the Just!"

It charges up but before it can take off BlackWargreymon knocks Beezlemon down to the ground! He turns to face me and see the shield. His eyes light up as he realizes what's coming. He spins around quickly again, though, grabs Beezlemon by the leg, then spins back around—

NO! The blast takes off BlackWargreymon throws Beezlemon at me! The blast envelopes Beezelmon and BlackWargreymon goes diving out of the way.

He rolls around and then stands back up while Beezlemon is blown through _several_ buildings that all come crashing down. I look at BlackWargreymon who is watching Beezlemon like a work of art. That fucking bastard! I launch myself at him and just as he turns around to face me, I'm upon him! We tumble to the ground and tussle before I end up on top of him. He fights helplessly under the weight of my body. I enjoy this moment very briefly before punching him in mouth twice. He uses all of his strength and throws me off of him. I fall on my back and kick back up to a standing on my knees. But BlackWargreymon is upon me this time, pushing me back onto my back, grabbing me from my armpits and throwing me into the air. I fly helplessly into the air and stare as he throws a blast my way. It hits me dead on like he's skeet shooting.

The pain is strong but nothing I haven't dealt with before. I go flying into a building! This pain is much worse than the actual blast I absorbed. I stop falling probably halfway through the building, in the middle of someones living room? What? No one lives here, not digimon at least? This is so strange? _No time to waste!_

I launch myself out of the building through the part of the building I had flown through. I climb out the building and Beezlemon is back but BlackWargreymon is handling him. He beats him down with blows to the back of the head and then stands over his body. He picks him up with one hand and holds him up, lifeless. He swiftly retracts his arm and then throws him sky high. "NOOOOOO!" I scream and jump out of the building, headed straight for BlackWargreymon.

He turns ever so slowly towards me.

Everything seems to be moving in slow motion.

I reach out for him, screaming with fury.

He lifts his claw up to me.

No blast comes out.

A wave of air comes howling from his outturned hand.

I feel like I've just been swooped into a hurricane.

My body is thrown asunder and I am tossed away like a rag doll.

What was that?

The memory immediately returns to me…_

* * *

I nodded, and said, "Well… how powerful can he be? He's just a Mega."  
__"You'd like to think that, now wouldn't you." He said.  
__"What do you mean?"  
__"Because he's spawn of the evil, and darkness, he has new, unheard of attacks, which are rumored to be so devastating, they leave miles of digital villages and cities in ruins."  
__"He is nearly invincible, as well, and still has all of his old abilities and powers."

* * *

_I crash back into the building.

Slowly time returns to normal. I sit back up immediately. I feel so empty now. He just has so much power. We need to find a way of neutralizing that. Someway. Somehow. No time to rest, I immediately push back into the battle, throwing myself out of the building, although this time letting myself fall to the ground first. I land on my feet and the ground around me cracks. BlackWargreymon and Beezlemon are having a stare down from a few hundred feet away. My landing draws his attention as he turns his head to look at me. The silence between the three of us is scary. There seems to be an acceptance of the fact that we're going to have a real bloodbath on our hands. BlackWargreymon will not leave this city. I will not allow it. I turn to Beezlemon and our eyes meet for a brief second and we speak through that. We take of simultaneously for him!

Very swiftly BlackWargreymon flips the shield off his back. He turns to me, being closer, and I crash my fist into his shield. He lifts the shield up and delivers a kick to my chest which sends me backwards. As I fall back I watch as he spins away from Beezlemon's fist, but then spins behind him and wraps him in his arms, with the shield out in front. I jump back up and rush at him. He turns Beezlemon, and thus his shield, to face me and I crash my elbow into the shield. But then lets go and I fall into Beezlemon and we are clumsily tied together but I can see over is shoulder to BlackWargreymon.

He throws his shield onto the ground and sticks out his claw, yelling "Dark War Blast!"

No. No more of this bullshit. I hug Beezlemon and spin us away from the blast, which blows up the entire building behind us. I let go of Beezlemon and he tackles BlackWargreymon! I rush to his side and draw his sidearm. BlackWargreymon struggles mightily under the weight of Beezlemon, but can't budge him. I point the handgun at his head and he stares up at me. His eyes turn from yellow to red then bla—

_**BOOM!**_

everything

is moving

i_n slooooooo_

it's so dusty.

so dark. What just happened? I look at my crumbled armor and my surroundings are all smashed up. I crane my neck and find Beezlemon laying on his back near by. What… what just happened?

I am pulled off my feet and come face to face with an enraged BlackWargreymon. He stares wildly into my eyes, "DID YOU REALLY THINK IT WOULD BE THAT EASY?"

I spit in his face. "I'm gonna kill you…"

He shakes this off and looks even more furious, "_Your_ going to kill me? Really, now?"

I need to stall for time. I look over at Beezlemon, clearly still incapacitated but his eyes are open and he's looking at us, helpless. I nod in his direction nonetheless and BlackWargreymon falls for the gimmick. He hesitates for a moment and then turns his head to look at the motionless Beezlemon. Once he has turned his head I break his grip on my collar with my fist. As I land back on my feet I bury a fist into his chest. He slightly doubles over and I swing my elbow into his helmet, cracking it severely. I can't let up, can't relent. I grab him by his shoulders, yank him towards me and I headbut him! It shoots searing pain into my own head but it's worth it because it clearly disorients him. I take a step forward and throw my fist into his head. This time he falls back and onto his stomach. _Be unrelenting._ I don't know what he did to stop me from shooting him earlier but I don't have time to think about it. I pick him up by his waist, lift him up into the air, over my head, beyond my head, until I can't hold him anymore and I fall backwards and I supplex him. He lands on his head and I land on my back. I turn around and he's laying in a heap on the ground. I grab him and lift him again and flip him around and throw him back down onto his back.

_Be unrelenting. _I stoop low and straddle his upper torso, pinning his arms down. I look back at Beezlemon, who is finally coming out of his weak state and getting back up. I turn back to BlackWargreymon, who is still weak from all the headshots. _Be unrelenting_. These words continue to echo in my mind, I can't let this get away. I bury my right fist into his head and it slugs away, his neck twisting with it. I pull his head back and this time my left fist. Pull back. Right fist. Pull back. Left fist. Pull back.

He darts his eyes up at me and they turn from yellow to red to black. I feel his whole body growing hot suddenly. He just did this…

I jump off of him and throw myself at Beezlemon and pull him away. I watch as BlackWargreymon's body literally explodes with black and violet energy in a large area around him. He must have blown us back with that, that's what happened before. After that we stand back for a second. His body withers for a moment before he seems to recover. _Be unrelenting. _I rush forward, grab him by the back of the neck and shove his head back into the ground to try and paralyze him for a little longer. He lies there, motionless again. I turn to Beezlemon, who rushes forward. I pick BlackWargreymon up and toss him, lifelessly, into Beezlemon's waiting arms. He holds him tight and I deliver a few blows to his chest. Now abdomen. Chest. Abdomen. Chest. Head. Head. Abdomen.

But he breaks Beezlemon's grip and delivers a shot to my head. I twist away but as I turn back I see Beezlemon kicking his legs out from underneath him! I recover and return to see Beezlemon picking up BlackWargreymon by the back and quite literally launching him into the sky! He goes flying a couple of hundred feet away and comes crashing down in the middle of the street. "Why'd you do that?"

Beezlemon exhausted but as if it's obvious, "So we can gather ourselves again."

I'm not sure what he means until it dawns on me that I don't have my lance or shield and he's not only missing his side arm but his large gun as well. I turn to my shield, lying a few feet away. I walk over to pick it up and Beezlemon picks up his sidearm. We both turn back to check on BlackWargreymon

Oh no. He stands tall, staring down the street at us. What is he waiting for… if he's ready to attack, why isn't he coming for us?

He throws his hands up in front of him.

He slowly moves them so that they are extended far out to his left and right.

He flips them so we can see his exposed claws.

He raises his head to look at us, his eyes dark yellow.

Something awful is about to happen. Something terrible. Something is going to happen. I push the shield to in front of us and bury it into the ground.

Here it comes. I grab Beezlemon by the forearm and pull him to my side and down to under the shields protection…

_"Death Cymbal!"_

The last thing I see are him bringing his arms together as one would do with a cymbal instrument. I bring us both so we are protected by the shield.

Total destruction appears before my eyes. Waves of black energy soars into the city around us. Every window blows out. The buildings all simultaneously collapse. It is complete desolation. The city is on fire. …_unheard of attacks, which are rumored to be so devastating, they leave miles of digital villages and cities in ruins…_

So this is what he meant. Death Cymbal? The sound waves from the clash sounds out nothing but death. Unreal. I wonder what else he has, besides the normal BlackWargreymon attacks? "Ready?"

I look at Beezlemon, almost forgetting he had been next to me. I nod and we turn to face our foe. He is slowly walking towards us I have nothing until he gets close enough. I feel like using my shield will be a mistake. Beezlemon gets on one knee, his body being mostly protected by the shield. He holds out his handgun and

_**BOOM!**_

He fires a shot and it hits BlackWargreymon in the shoulder but it doesn't even faze him. He just keeps slowly walking towards us, ominously appearing ready to kill us.

_**BOOM! BOOM!**_

_**BOOM!**_

Three more shots! Beezlemon is giving him all that he's got! Two of the shots hit BlackWargreymon in his chest and the third one misses. He must be aiming for his head?

_**BOOM!**_

This one misses again. He turns to me and _yells_ out, "DAMNIT! I don't have anymore shots!"

What? That doesn't make any sense, his sidearm holds 6 shots, that was only 5. Does he _know_ he has anymore? He suddenly **throws** his gun away! No! What is he doing? BlackWargreymon is still marching towards us. I don't know what to do! This is basically a fist fight with a SUPER Mega Digimon! We can't beat him if he's got all these attacks. "Beezlemon, we need to get out of here. We need to live to fight another day, because we don't stand a chance right now!"

"I'm going after him! Watch his back!" He says back to me.

WHAT? What is he doing? Wait… watch his back? What? What's going on?

Beezlemon runs out from behind the shield, fists raised at BlackWargreymon! I stand up and take a few steps out from behind the shield.

He gets within a few seconds, his right fist raised.

He goes to bring it down.

BlackWargreymon grabs his elbow with his left hand.

He delivers a blow to Beezlemon's head, who staggers

but BlackWargreymon pulls him back towards him and

he finally uses his Wargreymon **claws** and shoves them _through _Beezlemon. No. Please… no.

He immediately goes lifeless. BlackWargreymon puts his claw at his side and Beezlemon's motionless body just slides right off the blade sharp claws. He's dead on the spot. He killed him. He killed him. HE KILLED HIM.

An uncontrollable rage overcomes me. I run full force at him and he continues his slow march towards me, almost not noticing me! He's going to fucking DIE!

I throw my fist into his chest. He just stops moving. I bury another one into his gut and then chest and gut, back and forth and he just watches me. I look up into his eyes. We stare for one single moment and I see the BlackAugmon, walking me around the Valley of the Shadows. I see him. I see it. I see no fear. I see a machine. A monster.

He lifts his right claw up into the air.

He brings it down onto my shoulder and I feel the weight of the world come crashing down on me. I fall into a heap on the floor. I look up at him. He smirks down at me. He reaches down and picks me up by the neck and lifts my helpless body so he can stare me in the eyes. "I've been waiting for you for a very long time. I've been waiting for this moment for even longer!"

I look down at his claw as he slowly traces my abdomen. The idea of being eviscerated is horrifying… and there is nothing I can do to stop him. I look back into his eyes and he stares at me, so happy. That malicious look. Those eyes. He narrows them…

"UGH…"

I look down. Cut open. The black claw slices through the digital flesh. BlackWargreymon. Cut open. He… he's been cut open. Right through his abdomen, the black claw of Beezlemon cuts through him!

I look over his shoulder and there's Beezlemon, who then reaches out with his free arm and wraps it around BlackWargreymon's neck, drawing him closer and thus shoving his claw in deeper. He lets go of me and I land on my feet, left in shock as I stare at Beezlemon's claw sticking through BlackWargreymon's chest, identical to how he cut Leomon open all those years ago. "GO! Go, get the gun!"

Suddenly it dawns on me. He yelled that he had been out of shots. Throwing the gun. Going out before me so he could be behind him. I look over to my right and just a few feet away is his side arm. I sprint back and forth and before I know what's happening, I'm standing before BlackWargreymon who, it seems, can't even move. I put the gun up to his head… and then I catch Beezlemon's eye.

I pull the gun down and put it at my side. I grab BlackWargreymon by the shoulder and throw him down onto the ground. There is data from his midsection is streaming upwards, as he sits on his knees. I look at Beezlemon, confused at what has just happened. "You want this more than I do."

He nods his head. He takes the gun out of my hand and puts it to the back of BlackWargreymon's head. "You killed a lot of my men. Now I'm going to kill you."

"And I enjoyed killing every single one of them. And you **can't** kill me. Killing me will only bring on hundreds of others. The Darkness will never relent. It will always be pursuing you, Impmon. Until you are dead."

There is a silence as his words resonate. I feel compelled to say something, "And what about me? He's not going to pursue me?"

"He doesn't need to kill you, Takato. You've been dead for a long time."

_**BOOM!**_

The shot slices through BlackWargreymon's head. With that he is dead. His body explodes into data. It floats upward for some time. Neither of us absorbs it. I don't think either of us wanted it. It was tainted by The Darkness. _You've been dead for a long time._ What does that even mean. The words echo in my mind, saturating it with it's possible meaning, diving deeper and deeper as I try to comprehend their meaning. It's going to tear me apart trying to understand them. But I need to get past this. Our army is still at war, without us. But still… what did he mean…

* * *

A/N: Who said I was finished, and Father Time was to blame?

Love Always. Rukato Forever.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"


	19. Keeping A Promise

A/N: I wish I was strong enough to lift not one but both of us. Love and be loved. Read… and review!

* * *

Keeping A Promise

"You've been dead for a long time."… "you've been dead for a long time…"

"…you've been dead for a long time..."

The phrase is stuck running through my mind. The wind whips at my face as Beezlemon and I soar through the air as fast as we can, racing back to the army that was fighting at the lake that Impmon had told us about. Impmon had warned against a possible trap, so did I walk the two of right into it, or was the trap waiting for our army when Kazu lead them into it? Had we even been the victims of a trap at all? I thought back to the way we were ambushed by BlackWargreymon. The first thing he did was blow up the ground between Beezlemon and I to send a message that he could destroy us if he really wanted to, but I bet he was wishing he could take it back now. I bet he wishes he had done that violent explosion thing right before Beezlemon shot him. I bet he wishes he did a lot of things different, now that he's dead.

"You've been dead for a long time"

Why did he say that? It's so wrong, but is he right? _Have_ I been dead for a long time? Did the Darkness already win? The dreams with Rika and Henry and Ryo… am I with them and don't realize it? Is the Darkness allowing all of this? _There is no way that I'm dead. I can feel and think and I can breath. This is just absurd. _But then, why did he say that? As his final words? In his last moments of existence it was what he wanted to convey, what he wanted to tell me. Why?

_There it is!_

Now upon our horizon I can see smoke clouds in the sky. My eyes look sideways at Beezlemon and he meets my gaze. We both return to the field of battle that lies far ahead. Where as before we entered King Gallant's City there was a suffocating silence between us, now there is a comfortable silence. We know what lies ahead. We must defend our world. We must help our army. We must be strong.

The clouds grow closer and now there are fiery explosions I can see. There are battles taking place. We come crashing down simultaneously and it seems like we land in a full on sprint. Dashing past explosions and hand-to-hand combat I try to not focus on what is going on immediately around me. I want to help, just as I am sure Beezlemon wants to help. But we are needed by Kazu and Jeri. We need to help them and worry about everything else later. I don't even know where my feet are taking me, I feel like I am moving on instincts alone. Beezlemon and my movements and synchronized and effortless. A BlackGreymon comes crashing out of the thick of the crowd at Beezlemon, but he simply stiff arms him away and we continue onward. When we landed initially there was plenty of room, little fighting going on near the fringes. Now we are growing closer to the center of the battle, the heart of the fighting. It's more chaotic, with more Dark digimon and Light digimon closing in on every side. The sheer volume is growing.

Suddenly an Ogremon flies out at me and I simply swat him back into the crowd. I feel the pressure of digimon filing closer to us, the claustrophobic feeling of having no where to go. I look over and see a Cherrymon beating down an Angemon and I can't ignore it any longer. I break from my path with Beezlemon and knock the Cherrymon off his feet. He falls to his side, yelling in shock and I slice through his trunk with my lance. I quickly remove it, spin away and race after Beezlemon. We are now moving in a single-file line through the crowd. I see him swiping at varying enemies and I do the same, often delivering a second blow to the same foes that he has already touched up.

_BOOM!_

My vision is gone in an instant as sand and rock fly into my eyes. I swat it around and then I see Beezlemon on his back, being pinned down by a Myotismon. Without hesitation I deliver a swift kick to the Vampire King's torso and launch him off of Beezlemon. I grab him by the hand but as I go to pull him off I feel a crash as an enemy overcomes me from behind. We tumble around for a second and then I find myself under the weight of and looking right up into the eyes of a Piedmon. He looks down at me menacingly and then suddenly lowers his head so that we are head-to-head, eye-to-eye. He looks into me as I struggle to break free and I see his eyes grow wide. He whispers, "You're the one. You're the chosen one."

Beezlemon's voice breaks through "You're the dead one."

Both Piedmon and I look up at Beezlemon's sidearm, pointed at Piedmon's head.

_BOOM!_

The shot rips through his head. All of the weight is alleviated as he explodes into data. I stand up and watch as Beezlmon swallows the information up. Without any further notice we turn again and take off into the crowd, not quite sure where we are going but knowing we'll find it when we get there. I yell up to him, "Thanks."

"I owed you one." He responds gruffly.

"Just one?" I joked.

_'You're the one. You're the chosen one.' _What is all this nonsense? I'm the chosen one who's been dead for a long time already? What is going on?

We rush forward, shoulders brushing up against friend and foes alike when all of a sudden an arm stretches out and clotheslines me! I fall right on my back and watch Beezlemon disappear into the crowd. I look around at the thousands of feet around me threaten to trample me if I don't get up quickly. Right to my feet I stand up and begin looking around for the enemy but they're everywhere! Something grabs my shoulders and spins me counter-clockwise. I try to regain my footing but then my legs are kicked out from underneath me and I fall on my face. Ugh, what the hell is going on? I begin being dragged through the sand and dirt! I feel the force of my enemy pull with all of its might and I am launched into the sky!

I float away into the sky and almost as if in slow motion I watch as ChaosJustimon stares up at me with his blade pointed for my soaring body. He stands out vividly in the crowd of evil and good digimon doing battle. Like if I were to spot Rika in a room of strangers, the familiar face shines brightly through the haze of the unknown. He whispers ever so carefully, "_Chaos… Burst."_

The slow motion doesn't cease and I see the black lightening bolts come flying at me but I cannot dodge them. My body is too heavy, my armor too much, I can't even twist out of the way.

_BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!_

All three shots hit home and my world fades to black as I crash down to the ground.

_"Takato!" she screams._

The voice is so far and so familiar. Who is that girl screaming for me?

_"TAKATO!" _The red head flashes into my mind.

"Rika?"

I open my eyes and find myself lying on the ground, my armor cracked in all the wrong places, my lance and shield both gone. I look up and find I am on the outside looking in on the madness of this fighting. I watch as a Garudamon and Saberdramon do battle in the sky. A Leomon and Ogremon fight not far off and the image of this age-old battle almost warms my heart. A Devidramon overhead is ridden into the ground by a MetalEtemon on it's back, crashing into the dueling armies. I turn my attention back to my surroundings in time to see _my _enemy come forward. ChaosJustimon emerges from the crowd without effort or reaction. He just stares at me solemnly.

I look to my side and realize my back is against the Darkness Walls. If I fall back any bit I'll be deleted immediately. Well, actually, I don't know that for sure. The image of that Stingmon being totally enveloped by the walls was still horrifically present in my mind. But then MetalSeadramon said that they were just pawns in the Darkness' plans once the walls were pushed back, right? I abandon the thoughts and turn my attention back to ChaosJustimon who continues to stare. Ryo is in there, somewhere. He told me to do it. He told me to destroy him, gave me his blessing and encouragement when we stood over the castle, moat and desert. _The moat? _I yell out at him, "So, tell me, Ryo, where is the water?"

"Ryo is dead. Only I am here, ChaosJustimon." He barks back.

"You'd like to believe that, wouldn't you? Is that what the Darkness has told you? That you're alone in there? That Ryo isn't inside of you?"

"You're stalling will not work with me, Takato. Today you meet your end," he shoots at me, now changing his blade back into an oversized claw, "CHAOS CLAP!"

He brings the claw down on the ground, creating tremors that stretch the ground between us and underneath me. Like that's going to stop me. I jump quickly as the ground explodes and fly over to him, connecting my fist with his claw, which he dislodges from the ground and takes a half step back before I deliver a swift kick to the chest. He falls backwards into an unsuspecting Mummymon. They both topple over and ChaosJustimon looks up at me as I close in on him. He rolls away and I bring my fist down into and through the Mummymon, who immediately explodes into nothing. ChaosJustimon takes a swing at me and I also spin away from the blow and then disappear into the crowd of fighting digimon.

I need to find either one of my lance or shield so I deal real damage besides body blows. I'm not sure who is on my team and who is against me except for the Dark-digimon, who stand out. It hadn't really dawned on me that the Darkness employed both Dark digimon as well as normal ones until now when I realized I could not just simply attack every non-Dark digimon. I try to navigate the endless gaggle of tangled fighters but it is no doubt that my stature is betraying me at this moment, while ChaosJustimon's minuteness is helping him chase me down unbeknownst to me. I suddenly come into a clearing in the fighting. I look around for anything, any sign of Kenta, Kazu, Beezlemon, Jeri, Suzy, anyone. Off in the distance to my right I watch the Garudamon I had seen earlier fighting with a Saberdramon flying off victoriously when a blast of darkness shoots out from the crowd and strikes her in a wing! She spins out of control and comes crashing down to the crowd, sending out waves of sand and rock in her wake. The horror… the horror.

The voice of a frightened girl screams out, "Takato!"

My head snaps to follow the voice and I see no more than a hundred yards away, again outside of the fighting but besides the Darkness Walls, is Jeri! I shove my way towards them, pushing anyone who gets in the way. I fight my way for a few minutes until I finally break through and find myself with Jeri as well as Suzy and Kenta, while Puppetmon and, surprisingly, Beezlemon fight off on-comers. I also notice that my shield and lance are on the ground in this clearing, although I'm not sure how they got here. "Jeri! What happened here? Was there any lake?"

"Yes! HiAndromon lead the charge. They were waiting for us, Takato," she pants, "waiting for oh my God, watch out!"

I spin around and ChaosJustimon is coming out of the air at me with his blade aimed at us. I back up and push Jeri and company away at the same time as his energy sword comes down just a foot or two away. He looks up at me grimacing, "Die, Takato!"

He goes to pull his blade up but before he can I raise my right leg and kick his shoulder so that he goes tumbling back down. I quickly turn back around, and yell, "Beezlemon! Puppetmon! Get these three out of here, now!"

They quickly turn back and realize what is happening. They grab the digidestine and then rush into the fray. I think this is it. This is where it ends for either ChaosJustimon or myself. Ryo told me to kill him. Told me to do it. I have to fulfill my promise. I have no other choice. I turn back to face him and he stands tall, looking me in the eyes, and speaks slowly, "Thus far you have traveled, but no further. And here shall your proud wave be stilled."

"I know you're in there, Ryo. And I'm going to do everything you told me to do. I promised and I intend to keep that promise."

He looks at sideways, "What did you do?"

Without warning I rush forward and deliver a blow to his chest with my right fist and then I follow through with a left uppercut. Quickly I grab ChaosJustimon by the shoulders, do a quick spin and then release him into the air so that he goes flying into the battle once more. I return to my lance and shield and rush to retrieve them but as I reach for them I notice the ground below is cracking, with black light emanating from the crevices. Instinctively I grab my weapons and then feel the rush of pain as ChaosJustimon's attack blows me up. Once the blast is over I turn to see _millions_ specks of data floating away! ChaosJustimon stands boldly on the other side of the data and absorbs them all. He killed my troops _and his own _in cold blood, just to clear the path to me. Now there is nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. This will be the end.

I take a few steps side ways to get better positioning but he mirrors my movement and I stop after a few paces once my back is to the Darkness Walls. Imminent death or captivation awaits me on the other side, so I don't want to accidentally rush into them. We take a long look at one another, each waiting for the other to make the first move, the first mistake. "You know that you are my Master, so why do you fight, Takato Matsuda? Ultimately you will end up dying and every moment of rage you empower him more."

I say nothing and we continue to stare, his blade menacing, my lance firmly planted at my side. "So please, continue on your way to trying to kill and murder us all. My Master will only get stronger. He will enjoy these final moments of yours as I finish you and your sadness will embolden him even more."

"You asked why I fight," I interject, sick of his rant, knowing he is wrong, that he must be wrong. There is a long pause as I plan my course of attack, "I fight for Ryo."

I explode from my position at him, lance first. As I close the gap he extends his blade and I counter by switching my lead weapons from lance to shield. His blade dully bounces off my shield, which I guide upward and thus exposing his body. I swing my lance at him and he barely dodges it. I follow my swing and bounce away from him so that we are far apart once more. He aims his blade at me but I know what's coming next and position my shield in the line of fire. He calls out, "Chaos Burst!"

The black lightening shoots against my shield and I use it as a barricade until it suddenly stops. I look up at him and he has already changed the blade back to his claw. Enough with this bullshit. "Chaos Clap!"

I take off running, not towards him but away, in circle. He follows me with his arm and the ground below me cracks just behind my every footstep. I suddenly stop, take a step back and flip backwards to avoid the explosions from underneath me. When I land I turn on him and run full force, lance extended. Rather than attempt to get out of the way he braces for it. Just before I get there he changes his claw into a blade once more and swings it at me. His blade and my lance connect and we both push forward so that we are face to face with our sharp weapons being the only thing between us. He leans in and whispers, "Any last words, Takato Matsuda?"

I think for a second and whisper back, "I'm coming for you, Ryo."

We both push off and face one another from a few feet away. I realize that once again I have my back to the Darkness Walls. I position my shield and lance closer to my body and he suddenly juts his blade out towards me. I will have none of this, I scream out, "Shield of the Just!"

"Chaos End!"

'_Chaos… End?' _He launches himself into the sky and my blast takes off, missing him entirely. I strain to move the shield for a half a second and then let go of it entirely because it was slowing me down too much. He raises his blade up high over his head and soars through the air towards me. I grab the end of my lance with my free hand and throw it up as a cross against his attack. It all happens so quickly: he brings his blast down upon me, my lance blocks the initial attack, but the shockwaves sent from it force me off my feet. I fall backwards and bring him with me, but as we go down I raise my legs up, do a roll as I fall onto my back and launch him forward with my feet so that he goes flying behind me.

I quickly roll and spin so that I am facing him again. He lies in a heap on the edge of the desert and the Darkness Walls. Here's my opportunity! Ryo's words come back to me, "when you have him down for the count… finish me." Finish him. This is it. He slowly begins to stand up and uses the Walls as his crux. I rush towards him, lance first! He turns his head ever so slightly. I'm a stride away! I grunt, "ARGHHH!"

_SWOOSH!_

Once again, time slows down and everything moves in slow motion. ChaosJustimon has no time to react. My lance penetrates his digital flesh and slices right through his gut. His neck snaps back, his arms constrict. But my momentum does not stop with just stabbing him. No, it carries me forward. I watch as the end of my lance, perturbing out of ChaosJustimon, is enveloped in the veil of the Darkness Walls. As I carry us both forward I can't do anything to slow us down or prevent us from closing in on the Walls. ChaosJustimon pushes through first, the Walls do not shake, do not quiver, but he just slides through them without effort. There is no time for me to let go of my lance or stop myself. The blackness of the Walls overtakes my entire eyesight. ChaosJustimon is completely enveloped beyond the Walls. I feel my hands slip through the Darkness Walls first, and it's like I shoved them under a waterfall of ice water, and they're now paralyzed, unmoving. My arms push through next, the same sensation running over them. With nothing but darkness in my eyes I feel my body carried through and the ice water crushes me under its weight. I close my eyes, to keep the pain away. My whole body comes through the Darkness Walls and then there is silence.

There is nothing. I try to listen for noises, anything to give a sign of life. I try to feel any support under my legs. I try to feel anything.

_BOOM!_

It all comes back with that thundering boom. I feel ground under my feet, I hear thunder in the background, and I hear the contorted panting of a dead digimon right in front of me. I open my eyes.

_Not again._

For miles, there is nothing I can see but perpetual darkness, wild winds blowing as desert sand kicks up and flies everywhere. The purple portals I had come to know so well of the Digital World range in the far off distance. Unlike my last two experiences here, however, now there is something different. Off into the distance I see a sharply inclined mountain that ascends into the heavens and just above the cloud line I see a bright, dark light, like a star, at the apex. We have returned to the Valley of the Shadows.

"AHHH!" a scream lets out, right into my ear.

I look down at ChaosJustimon. Everything had happened so fast but I never forgot that I had him at the end of my lance. I didn't intend to carry us through the Walls but there's no going back now. Electricity begins to shoot up and down his body, quickly it goes from head to toe and back. His dark flesh flashes back to the blue and light gray, and now back to the black and dark gray. Blue and light gray, black and dark gray. Blue and gray, black and gray. Black, blue, black, blue, black, blue. Blue.

"ARGH!" he screams once more and the lightening stops, along with the flashing.

After all this time, after all the fighting, after all the battling. From getting sucker punched those long months ago, and shoving him down before we left for the Digital World, before any of this happened. Getting into fights with him before we knew what had happened to him, Henry and Rika. All of these battles with ChaosJustimon, with Ryo. The look in his eyes when he told me to kill him. I feel a sharp pull in my stomach, my throat dries up. I look at Justimon, his torso lodged onto my lance, grasping for his last few breaths. "I'm sorry, Ryo."

Justimon slowly turns his head to look at me, "Don't be sorry, Takato. You did exactly what I told you to do. You made me proud," he continues on, clearly reaching for air, "you kept your promise."

"What's going to happen now?" I ask, realizing the uncertainty of what his death will mean for the man inside.

"I guess we're gonna find out. But no matter what," he pants, "you did the right thing, Takato. Thank you."

"I'm sorry, Ryo. For everything. I'm sorry it has to end like this and I'm sorry that I let my feelings for Rika get between us so long ago."

"Oh shut up, no you're not" he says, and we both let out a small laugh.

"I love you, Ryo." I say, realizing that I never wanted to lose a friend like this.

He doesn't respond. He's so close to the end. Cautiously he whispers, "See you on the other side, friend."

I can't watch him suffer any more. I dislodge my lance from him, swiftly pulling it away from his body. Immediately my friend explodes into data. I watch it float upwards, refusing to absorb it. I whisper to the Valley of the Shadows, "Good bye, Ryo Akiyama."

"How sweet."

The harrowing voice booms over me and I jump at the sound of it. I turn on spot and find that we were never alone. A few hundred yards away a giant, dark digimon looms over me. I look him from up to down, shocked at his appearance. Where there should have been yellow, there was red. Where there should have been green, there was black. I knew he would eventually have to show his face but I never expected it to be like this. He thunders down at me, "Hello, Gallantmon."

I take a slow breath, savoring it for however long as I possibly can. Killing ChaosJustimon had been no simple task, this would prove impossible. Nonetheless, I drew all the power in my voice and called back to him, "Hello, BlackMegaGargomon."

* * *

A/N: Hey kids! I bet you thought that I was dead! But I just fell and bumped my head! Okay, so that was a nice little chapter that was fun to write and I'm hoping enjoyable to read. I legit almost cried writing Ryo's death, even though I wrote him waaaay out of character all that time ago, saving face when he reappeared in "Our War Game (Is Over)," and even though I hated him on the show and in this story, pretty much. It was just so hard to kill him off. But there's no rest for the weary. Takato gets back to the Valley of the Shadows and is immediately confronted by BlackMegaGargomon. I feel bad because this is BMG's first appearance but I've had his character in the works for a long time now and I've been showing you guys all the main villains, BlackWarGreymon, ChaosJustimon, BlackSakuyamon and The Darkness, forever but this is BMG's first time in the big leagues. If you haven't noticed, my writing style from even a year ago has evolved a lot and so it's going to be kinda different from here on out. Another thing, I have always had this clear image in my mind of what the Darkness Walls are like and how they work and such but I'm not entirely sure that I've done a great job of explaining them. Can someone please comment and let me know if I have or have not explained them effectively? They became really important in this chapter, and will continue to play a crucial role going forward, but I just want to get some feedback. Anyway, hopefully I can have the next chapter up soon along with maybe an update to The Lake for my readers who are a fan of both. Also, here's a shameless self-plug: go back to my Author's page and check out "Power: A Page Out of Promise." It was meant to be read before the last installment of Promise but based on the hit count I'm not 100% sure everyone has read it. So check it out because it was a pretty cool thing to write. Alright, folks, until next time!

Love Always. Rukato Forever.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"


	20. Henry's Last Stand

A/N: Aha, I gotchu, uh. With the same sword they knight you, they gone goodnight you with. Shit, that only half if they like you. Love and be loved. Read… and review!

* * *

Henry's Last Stand

"I want Henry back." I demand.

My demand falls on empty ears and bounces off distant cavern walls. BlackMegaGargomon stares down at me, unmoving, unspeaking. I want to see beyond the monster, beyond the enemy. I want to see the boy, my friend, my closest ally, Henry Wong. The Darkness has turned my closest friend into my biggest enemy. From my experience with Rika and Ryo, I've learned how to handle this situation now. I yell up to him, "I know he's—"

"Just shut up." He commands me.

I'm stunned by his confrontation and the control he exerts in it. We stare out at one another, the wind blowing against my back, sand flying up in small amounts towards the towering behemoth. I can feel every muscle in my body tense up, preparing itself for battle. But our fight hasn't begun yet, there is still time to talk and learn and stall. I try to think of Ryo and the fear immediately creeps into my mind that I have murdered a close friend. What if he's not coming back? What if he never comes back? What if that happens to Henry right now? I know better, however, because if I were to lose this fight to BlackMegaGargomon or any digimon before defeating The Darkness, then I know _I _won't be coming back, and neither will Ryo. Or Henry. Or Rika.

I look to my left and the sight is almost befuddling, yet so familiar. Unlike on the other side of the Darkness Walls, where I could see the physical barrier between the Digital World and the Valley of the Shadows, there are no walls or veils or anything. It is like there is nothing separating the two at all, except for the ground. The desert floor is black along the lines of the Valley of the Shadows, and light in the Digital World. I have seen this before. So long ago, when I first arrived and BlackAgumon fooled me, willingly walked me out of the Valley of the Shadows and into the trap The Darkness had lying before me. Why did he do that? Why had he not just—

"So you killed ChaosJustimon and in the process ended the life of Ryo Akiyama."

His words, already thundering down at me as they were, echo across the desert, resonating, leaving a terrible taste in my mouth. I yell back, "I saved him from you, from The Darkness."

"And now he'll never see his father again." He says with a smirk.

"Stop this, Henry—"

"There is," he interrupts me, "no Henry. Only I, BlackMegaGargomon."

"Now you stop that and listen to me. Henry is in there, we both know it." I fight back.

"Henry Wong is dead. He died several days ago in a cave by the Dark Ocean." He responds, agitated by my defiance.

There's a conflict in his story then and I point it out immediately, "If Henry is already dead," which I know is false at this point, "then how is it that _I_ killed Ryo, if he was in that cave with Henry?"

"Ah," he almost laughs at me, "you think you've figured it out, Takato Matsuda? But what you don't realize is that you killed Ryo Akiyama twice. You killed him when you sent him to the Dark Ocean World and you sealed his fate just now, by penetrating him with your blade."

I scream out, "I didn't kill anyone!"

"You just did!" he yells back calmly.

"Henry, I know you're in there, and I'm coming for you, I promise I am." I finally get through.

"Enough! It's time to dance, Gallantmon." He says, taking a step back and preparing for attack, "Burst Shot!"

His armor opens up and the barrage of missiles is unleashed for me. I braced for the attack, calculating my next move.

* * *

"Atomic Ray!" I shout, blowing a couple of more enemies into data.

I turn and run for the next ally in danger, an ExVeemon pinned down by a Bakemon. I uplift the Bakemon and launch him into the sky before shooting him down with a blast from my cannon, although not wasting my energy with a full attack. I look down at the ExVeemon and ask, "Are you alright?"

"Never been better!" he calls back, reaching his hand out. I help him up and turn to look for the next enemy. I see an Infermon causing havoc fifty yards away and run towards him.

We had arrived at the same small lake that we had occupied just a few nights before, when we first arrived at the Digital World. This was the lake where Takato freaked out and launched himself into the water and I had to dive in and save him. This same lake, Guardromon told me when we arrived, it was called "Terrier's Lake." I knew from when MetalSeadramon told us about King Gallant's City that I didn't need to hear anymore to know what was going on. The Darkness was leading us to all the landmarks of where Takato, Henry and Rika would find important. We knew where Guilmon had landed and now where Terriermon had landed but still no idea about Rika and Renamon. Regardless, when we arrived the Darkness had been waiting for us. It was a trap, just like Impmon had feared. We arrived and no sooner had we stopped by the lake did a Seadramon erupt from Terrier's Lake and then all hell broke lose.

I tackle the Infermon, bury my cannon into his head and shout out, "Atomic Ray!"

I look around and see Puppetmon running full speed from the battle, Suzy in his arms. I consider following him when a roar is heard from not far off. A SabreLeomon is under duress so I run to help him. The first wave of attackers hit us hard, and it was really horrific to see all that data flying up. But we rebounded and now we were winning this fight, ready to close it out. The tide of the battle really turned when Beezlemon arrived but I haven't seen Gallantmon yet, which has myself and I'm sure everyone else very worried. In fact, I only saw Beezlemon for a split second, but that was more than reassuring. Thinking of it, I take a second to look around for both of them. I see Beezlemon is flying back towards the battle, but why had he left at all. "Beezlemon! Where are you coming from?" I yell out to him.

Apparently noticing me for the first time he stops in his tracks and looks across the field of battle to me. He decides against screaming it out and flies over to me. Oh boy, what is going on?

* * *

All of the missiles come flying at me at once and I have to react quickly. I point my lance at the center of them and yell out, "Lightening Joust!"

As soon as the blast is off I follow suit, running towards the missiles, rather than away from them. My attack hits a missile, blows it up, and in the ensuing explosion blows up most of the other missiles coming at me. I jump up just as one of the missiles is about to crash down on me and twirl in the air, narrowly avoiding more blasts and dodging other projectiles. When I come back down I've somehow eluded all of them. He seems surprised but we just continue to stare at one another. "You have made so many promises, Takato. Do you really value any of them?"

His question throws me off. It is unlike any that ChaosJustimon posed nor that even The Darkness posed. I shout back, "I honor all of my promises and come through on every single one."

"But that's simply not true. You've already promised that you'd come for Henry Wong just now and we both know you cannot fulfill that promise. And don't even get me started on the promises you've made to Rika Nonaka."

There are no words for the sudden surge of fury I feel, I thrust my lance in front of me and scream out, "LIGHTENING JOUST!"

He simply dodges them and laughs loudly, "Haha, did I touch on a nerve, Takato Matsuda?"

I can hardly contain myself, "You shut up!"

He laughs again and then asks me, "Would you like to see those moments again, Takato? The Darkness can grant them to you."

"LIGHTENING JOUST!" I shout, pointing and firing, "LIGHTENING JOUST! LIGHTENING JOUST! LIGHTENING JOUST!"  
All of my shots blast off and BlackMegaGargomon aptly dodges all of them, all the while laughing out loud at my futile efforts, "Haha! Yes! Yes! Give it all to me! Make me pay!"

I stop firing and breath heavily. He stops his swift dodging and stares down at me with a horrible grin on his face. "What's the matter? All tired out already? Should we just end the game now, Takato?"

I try to catch my breath. I'm so tired from fighting off BlackWargreymon, then ChaosJustimon and now BlackMegaGargomon. I need something, anything. He leers down at me and then yells out, "GIANT MISSILE!"

The two humongous bunny-faced missiles located on BlackMegaGargomon's shoulders explode off of and come right for me. I can't even move to avoid them. I watch as they close in an let them wash over me, letting the pain ease my tired body.

* * *

So, Beezlemon carted Jeri off to a safe area and had Puppetmon watch over her and Suzy. They'd seen Gallantmon doing battle with ChaosJustimon but neither has been seen nor heard of since then. What in the world is going on? After a few long seconds of pausing I look up into Beezlemon's eyes, "Alright, fair enough, let's get back into the battle."

We both turn and take off towards more of the madness that was going on around us. The Darkness' defenses were weakening. It was only a matter of time until they cut their losses and rolled back, right? Suddenly a Garurumon crashes into me and we both topple over. I roll over and pin him down to the ground. I lift up my fist to crash it down on his nose and the look of horror on his face makes me realize this he is not the enemy. I turn my head and a Wizardmon is upon me! He shoves me right off Garurumon and points his staff in my face. He pauses for a second and we lock eyes, then, slowly, he speaks, "He's coming! And you're all going to die!"

_RAWR!_

The Garurumon I had been holding down tackles Wizardmon from behind. The two tumble over until Wizardmon is now the one pinned to the ground. I go over, put my hand down on the Wizardmon's shoulder and relieve Garurumon of his duties with a tap on his shoulder. Now it is just the two of us and I lean down so that we are face to face. "Well, I hate to break it to you," I say, putting my cannon to his head, "but whoever is coming, isn't going to be saving you any time soon."

He is clearly nervous, his eyes darting from my cannon to my face. He squeals when he speaks now, almost excited at the news, "He's gonna kill you. He's gonna end your life and there's nothing you or any of the digidestine can do about it!"

This little fucker! I scream vehemently at him, "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! I'M going to end your life and there's nothing you or The Darkness can do about it!"

He giggles now and grabs my hand that pins him down with both of his, not in an effort to escape but rather to hold on to me, to keep me there for a few more seconds, "Takato won't be able to save you! He won't be able to do _anything_!"

"Yeah, well we'll see about that." I say, raising my head away from him before yelling out, "ATOMIC RAY!"

My blast immediately envelops him and he is gone.

I stay staring at the spot that the wizard once was and can't help but wonder, _'What the hell was that about?'  
_

* * *

I stare down at the scene from above, like I did all those years ago, when I saw Rika for the first time. Although this time, it's so much different. There's a giant lake and a campfire with a few tents. But the only people who are outside the tents are a couple, a girl and a boy, walking around the circumference of the lake. They are about three-fourths around the way it. I try to focus on what is going on down there. The boy reaches his hands up for her shoulders and she shouts, "I'm fine!"

"Rika…" he says, unsure of how to respond.

"Takato…" she says hoarsely, "you made a promise… you made two promises… and you shattered them both, and put not only both of our lives, but the lives of everyone else- at risk.

I realize what I am watching and while upsetting I also can't help but feel a sense of curiosity. This moment, it had been so crushing. But I know now that it was not my Rika who spoke those words. The Darkness Rika suddenly breaks down and begins to cry but not into the arms of the man who loves her.

She wipes away a few tears and then looks up to my counterpart. He looks away in shame towards the fire at camp and then to the ground, truly defeated. What a fool, what a poor fool. Rika is still speaking but he is not looking. Now he looks up at her and she whispers the word, "unforgivable."

Suddenly, as if, and I'm sure they were, on cue, both Ryo and Henry emerge from one of the tents and steal everything around the campfire. All of the backpacks and food and everything we had brought with us they gather up and package together before sliding there backpacks on and returning to the fire pit to await Rika, who walks over and collapses into Ryo's arms. I look back to myself. So sad and so alone. What I would do to go to him now and comfort him. He calls out to his dream girl but she just disappears over the horizon with her gentlemen. Once over the horizon they all take off in a sprint for the Darkness Walls in the far off distance. I now turn my eyes back to myself and watch me lose myself once again, suddenly running towards the camp. He runs wildly before suddenly arriving at the lake shore and vomiting into the water. Shortly after he collapses onto the ground.

So, this was how I was defeated? How The Darkness crushed my spirit until Rika came to my aid not long after. How long did it take The Darkness to realize that Rika was in my dreams? He knew when he showed himself to me, but how long was it before he actually realized? How much had Rika told me before the Darkness Takato knew about what was happening? No amount of blows from BlackWargreymon, ChaosJustimon, BlackMegaGargomon, or even BlackSakuyamon could match what The Darkness accomplished through Rika that night. So what now? Do I simply return to Gallantmon and continue my fight with BlackMegaGargomon? Am I dead? I haven't experienced this out-of-bodiness since I first saw Rika.

Suddenly the dark of the scene below me explodes into light. It is day once more and the fire has gone out. What is happening?

_No._

That morning. I had forgotten what I had done that morning. With Jeri and Rika and… oh my God… it all seems so ruinous now. What had happened with Rika had not been real, but what had happened with Jeri _was_ real. I watch anxiously as I await my waking. What had happened first? I had woken and went out to get firewood and when I had returned, Jeri was suddenly by the lakeside. My God, no! How could I let that happen?

But then I never stir. In fact, the next thing that happens is that Jeri emerges from her tent and goes to the fireside, not noticing my unconscious body by the water. She scans her surroundings looking for something, but what? Probably her bag, which the others have stolen, something I had not thought of before now. Just now she notices my body. There is a moment of horror, in which her whole body goes limp at the sight of my body, and then she rushes forward. She reaches my side and tries to shake me awake. Instead of groggily waking I immediately begin screaming, my body becomes contorted and I shake violently. Jeri screams out. The other emerge from their tents and come rushing forward but I jump alive, run away, climb some rocks near by and dive head first into the water! Jeri stands stock still on the lakeside crying out after me. Kenta stops short of the water but Kazu rushes forward and into the water after my body. The kiss, it never happened. But, how? And Kazu. He went after me. Kazu went after me.

A gust of wind rushes up towards me and just before I close my eyes I see Kazu emerging from the water, carrying my dead weight. There are bright, white lights and I am blinded.

* * *

A new, different sensation stings my face. Suddenly, a new, different sensation stings my entire body. The blasts from BlackMegaGargomon, of course, had hit home and crushed me under their weight. What had just happened though? How had I seen what I seen? Regardless, it offered me priceless knowledge. The kiss I had shared with Jeri. Why had I seen that when it had never happened? I had to see it now for a reason, there was not other explanation. I opened my eyes and the Dark skies swirl around above. I notice something that I have not taken note of since I first arrived all those nights ago, in the Digital World. The rotating ball that represents my world, the Real World, has been replaced with a black orb. Blood red chains, which send chills down my spine as I remember the D-Reaper, surround it and it seems to be keeping the world in shackles. It pulsates and flashes of an even darker light explode from outside the globe and seemed to want to break open the chains that bound them ever so tightly. I want to contemplate it longer but I know there's nothing I can do about it now.

I summon all the strength in me and sit up and already I am faced with BlackMegaGargomon once more. He whispers down to me, his whisper sounding like a shout, "Impossible."

I grunt and call back, "Ugh, nothing is impossible in the Digital World, Henry."

"You could not have possibly survived that attack. You should be _dead_."

"Tell me, Henry, does The Darkness have power over my dreams in the same way that you, Ryo, and Rika have power into my mind?"

This upsets BlackMegaGargomon considerably, "Stop talking to the dead, Takato! Henry Wong is dead, along with Ryo Akiyama and Rika Nonaka. You killed all of them and they're never coming back!"

I begin to rub my shoulder and torso in the especially sore spots, trying to get in a better fighting condition. I see my lance lying on the ground next to me and slowly pick it up, continue to rub my chest with my free hand, while saying, "Do you know why I'm doing this, BlackMegaGargomon?"

"You're not doing anything, fool." He spits back at me.

"I'm doing this to save them. I'm doing this because I love all of them."

"Just stop with your lies and stalling, it's no good anymore."

"I am not" I immediately shout back, "lying."

I need a way to break through to Henry, something that will get at his core and pull out the real Henry from that cage. But what could really get to him and bring out the man I know he is inside? He towers over me and I think of how little he and Terriermon are outside of that Mega level. His smallness brings the answer to my mind without another thought. The little girl's face flashes before my eyes. He shouts down at me, "This time you won't survive, Takato!"

"No, Henry! If you kill me who will be there—"

"BURST SHOT!"

"—to protect Suzy?"

His body armor opens up to reveal the extra missiles but before they can explode off his body glows with electricity the way BlackSakuyamon had done before as well as ChaosJustimon! Yes! The flow of energy stops suddenly though and he growls down at me. "DIE, TAKATO!" he screams.

The missiles all take off and blast off, charging at them head-on. "Lightening Joust!" I scream, unleashing the attack towards his missiles.

Much like last time my blast blows up the majority of the missiles but not all of them. In mid-air I spiral away from one attack, quickly throw my body away from another and then dance away from a third. But this time I do not emerge unscathed as a fourth missile explodes against my body, sending searing pain up and down my body!

I stop in my tracks but do not fall back at all, accepting the pain as a part of the battle. But before the dust can clear I realize I have an advantage to use and point my lance through the clouds and whisper, "Lightening Joust."

The blast blows through the crowd and I hear it hit home, as BlackMegaGargomon calls out, "ARGH!"

When it all clears we are standings just a few hundred feet away staring down at one another. He is completely unscathed while my whole body is torn up. He smirks and says, "That almost hurt, Takato. Now take this!"

He falls backwards but it's only to lift his legs up and he brings up a swift kick that sends me flying backwards! I fly back to the ground and crash into the ground, bouncing a few times before finally coming to a stop. I look up at BlackMegaGargomon as he stares down at me, yelling out, "So, how is going fighting for your dead friends?"

I speak without thought, "They're not dead. They'll never be dead, as long as I'm breathing they will live through me and I will live for them."

I stand up and brush the dark sand off of my armor, which is shattered at this point. "I will always fight for them."

"Oh just stop it," he tries to interject.

"I do not do this for me. I don't do this for the Digital World. I don't do this to defeat The Darkness."

"You just never learn, do you?"

"I do this for YOU, Henry! You told me you believe me and I'm gonna prove that you're right." I say, and I can feel an incredible feeling gathering inside of me. I can feel it building and growing, something strong and powerful. Something I've never felt before in my entire life. My heartbeat begins to accelerate, I grow warm and I feel it. I feel the strength.

"Prove THIS right: GIANT MISSLE!"

I watch his blast take off but I can't stop talking, I just can't stop myself. "I do this for Jeri, for Suzy, for Kenta and Kazu. I do this for YOU, Henry." The two missiles fly out towards me but I can't break. There is no fear in me. "I do this for RYO. I do this for Rika because I love her and because I love you all. I love all of you," I say as the blasts close in on me, "I DO THIS FOR YOU!"

A surge of joy overcomes me and as I put my hands up in front of me I notice my whole body glowing in a white aura. My hands are up in a stop sign formation and just as the missiles are about to crash into me a white light blasts from my hands! The two attacks meet in the air but instead of any explosion, which I certainly would have been blown back by, there is just a suppression of the missiles by my white light! The explosives disintegrate on impact and then are gone. My white aurora lights up the Valley of the Shadows for a few moments and then slowly disappears as BlackMegaGargomon and I stare at one another. He is the first to speak, asking, "What… what did you just do?"

I'm asking myself the same question. What in the world was that? How did I just do that? With no answer for him I just jump for the first thing I can think of, "Henry! Suzy is safe, I promise!"

"WHAT?" BlackMegaGargomon yells out but it's too late, the electricity runs up his body and he is momentarily paralyzed. It runs up and down for a few more seconds and then stops, giving him a chance to respond, "I'm going to kill you!"

"Suzy and Jeri and Kenta and Kazu! They're all safe, Henry! I made sure Suzy was safe before I came here!"

The electricity runs up and down his body once more, "Stop it! Stop that right now!"

"Henry! You're stronger than this! Fight through it! For me! For Suzy!"

An explosion of electricity emits from BlackMegaGargomon and the light momentarily blinds me! I shield my eyes and shut them, turning away from the light. It stays lit up for a few seconds and then I hear it, the sound of BlackMegaGargomon fighting through it, "ARGH!"

The light begins to fade. I turn on spot to return to facing my enemy, painfully aware that I'll have to defeat him without Henry's help, "Alright, let's do this, BlackMegaGargomon!"

However, the next voice I hear is neither BlackMegaGargomon's nor one I have heard since arriving in the Digital World, "Momentai, Takato!"

* * *

I look up at the green and yellow giant and feel a surge of joy, knowing I finally broke through to him. "Henry! I can't tell you how happy I am to see you again!"

"I'm happy to see you again too, Takato, but we don't have a lot of time." He says.

I nod, and respond, "When do we ever have a lot of time?"

"First things first," he says, unfazed by my joke.

He lifts both hands into the sky, and brings them together in a ball. He screams out, "AHHH!"

He brings those hands down as quickly as possible into his own stomach! He screams out in agony as his armor cracks open from the force of the blow. "Henry, what are you doing?"

He doubles over and looks down to me, "You weren't doing much damage, if you haven't noticed, so I'm trying to help out for when this is all over," he says before groaning, "hurry up, we don't have much time."

I hesitate though, "Wait, Henry, I need answers before I can kill you."

He grunts and says, "Alright, whatever you need, but make it quick."

"What's going to happen to you? And what happened to Ryo?"

He's fighting off the darkness within and labors to say, "We don't know what's going to happen. Rika and I have lost connection with Ryo but you have to trust us, Takato, you have to kill us!"

I want to argue with him but I know that there's no point or time to waste, "Henry, does The Darkness have power over my mind and my dreams in the same way that you, Ryo, and Rika do? Because—"

"Argh!" Henry yells, clutching his stomach, where a hole has begun to form from the shot he gave himself, "I don't know, Takato, but I wouldn't put it past him, why?"

I think momentarily of having to explain myself and how in my moments of unconsciousness I saw into the past but, to be honest, I have no idea how that even happened. Everything is just moving so fast that I can't stop to think about anything, anymore. Quickly, I move to my next question, "The dream we last spoke, do you know what the body of water and the sand have to do with The Darkness' plans now? The castle represented King Gallant's—"

"I don't know, but Terriermon does! The water that's so close to us right now is where he crash landed when he returned to the Digital World. And look," he says, pointing to the mountain off in the distance that I took in when I originally came through these walls with Ryo and Justimon. A mountain that ascends into the skyline quickly and just beyond the clouds I can see a dark light shines through. I scan it up and down before MegaGargomon goes on, "that mountain is where Renamon crash landed when she arrived. These are all important landmarks to The Darkness, places he's keyed on since his emergence and places he holds close but, most importantly" he pauses, apparently contemplating what to say next, perhaps apprehensive to say whatever it is, before going on, "the top of Mount Sakuya is where The Darkness resides."

_'Of course!' _My eyes shoot right to the peak where the black star shines through the clouds. So that's where he stays, watching down from his perch at us. I involuntarily take a step towards the mountain and I hear MegaGargomon yell out, "No! Takato, you have to stay focused. There's nothing you can do up there."

"I can bring the fight to his doorstep. This whole time he's been enforcing his will on us and on me. For once, I can burn down _his_ house."

MegaGargomon, still laboring through the pain of holding back the darkness, responds, "Except he's already on his way to burn down _your_ house, Takato."

I turn to him slowly; letting his words wash over me. He goes on, "That's right, Takato. You have to go back and save the others. Save Suzy."

My own personal agenda against The Darkness has altered my path so much, so far in this war. My desire to preserve the lives of Rika and Henry and Ryo have kept me from moving onto the final phase of this battle, and that has fogged my vision. I have lost track of those that are most important to me right now: Jeri, Kazu, Kenta, and Suzy. I have to be strong for them. I don't do this just for Henry and Ryo and Rika. I do this for all of them. I understand now. "You're right. I have to go back. But first" I say, as electricity begins to run wild up and down MegaGargomon and he groans in agony, "I have to do something else."

"We understand. Just do it, Takato. This is the only way," they nod and are overcome by the electricity. They succumb to the darkness within and the green fades to black, while the yellow fades to red.

"What… what is going on?" BlackMegaGargomon asks, not realizing that he has been mortally wounded in the abdomen.

I look right up at the empty space where his digital flesh disappears piece by piece. I prepare my lance and plan my attack before saying, "Good bye, Henry."

"What?" He screams at me.

Without further hesitation I blast off from the black desert sand full steam ahead. He has no time to react before I charge through the hole lance first, piercing it even more and literally flying through him with my entire body. I fly out the other end and turn on spot to watch it expand and he screams out in pain. I point my lance at a location slightly above the gap in his body and shout, "Lightening Joust!"

The blast shoots out and blows BlackMegaGargomon in the back, connecting with the hole and then the damage is irreversible. My best friend, who I have fought through countless battles with, who helped me save both the Digital World and the Real World, who stood beside me and helped me become who I am today, who has always been there for me… now he is gone. Exploding into millions of pieces of data, dead at my hand. For the second time in just an hour's time I watch a close friend die and his data stream upwards. Again, I do not absorb it.

_'You have to go back and save the others. Save Suzy.' _His words echo in my mind. I look to where the Valley of the Shadows ends and the Digital World begins. I slowly fly back down to the ground and walk towards the barrier. I look ahead but there is nothing on the other side. I only see the desert horizon; I see no tremendous battle, which I know is taking place just beyond the outreach of the Shadows.

I take my steps out of the Valley and feel the same incredible sensation. I walk through the ice water waterfall, my whole body tensing up and almost being paralyzed by it but I carry though regardless. When I reach the other side my ears are greeted with explosive noises. I look around and it is utter mayhem. Whereas just a second before it was an eerie calm, now there is total chaos. Digimon fight off one another, each trying to gain the upper hand. There are battles in the sky and battles on the ground, but everywhere there is a struggle for survival and advancement.

And then something dark catches the corner of my eye. I turn to my right to find what it is and am greeted with yet another horrifying sight. Standing no more than 15 feet away, back turned and completely relaxed. A spectator of all the carnage, watching it all unfold with glee. The tall dark figure was unaware of my even existence, had not the slightest idea that I stood just behind them, capable of ending their life and putting a rest to all of their nightmarishly internal troubles…

I looked square into the back of BlackSakuyamon and knew that it must end now.

* * *

A/N: Now this chapter was much more like the Notorious P.A.T. that you all knew and grew to love. This chapter was a vintage '06 performance by me, calling upon all the skills I've learned since I first started writing here and all the skills I've gained since then, and putting it all together for one magnificent 6,000+ words chapter. This really was one of the best ones I've written, I'm confident of that. For the first time in almost 6 years I got into a groove and just banged out 10+ pages of writing in one sitting without even blinking. It was awesome. A lot of good things came together in this chapter, and I'll talk about them right here, but it won't matter what I think but what you all think. I said at the end of "Keeping A Promise" that I was very self-conscious about the fact that Henry and BlackMegaGargomon had been pretty much been non-existent since "Wake Me Up Inside" so I felt a need to make this battle between them very personal, very engaging for the reader, so that they didn't see BMGM's lone scene and defeat as just something I put together because I had to when the truth is that I was exciting about this scene, that I have been for a number of years now. This battle scene, this whole chapter, has been in the works for a while. Moving on, the whole cut back to Kazu and Beezlemon was something I was worried wouldn't work out too well, like it wouldn't fit in with Gallantmon's current plight, but I was able to create good niches to fit those two scenes into them. I wanted to give you guys those scenes so that you wouldn't think that the whole entire fighting just kind of stopped when Takato slipped into the Valley of the Shadows. Another important scene in this was Takato seeing what _really _happened "the morning after" Rika left him. That wasn't something I just put together out of nowhere that was planned for a while. If you go back to that scene you'll notice the writing was very strange, there was just _something _about that whole scene that would have you believe it couldn't have possibly been real. Because it wasn't, and I can remember laboring over writing that scene out because I knew it had to be real but it also had to have an air of being too far fetched for reality. I needed to sell you guys, the reader, on the idea that Takato really kissed Jeri, but also leave myself some license to look back later in the story and say that it didn't happen. Well if it didn't happen, you ask, then why did Takato remember or think it so? Well, we'll get to that eventually. Just a little something for you all to stew on as these next few chapters come out. Last but not least, the return of BlackSakuyamon. That idea, of Takato realizing he must kill her and coming back into the Digital World with her back turned to him, was always such a poetic scene I had figured in my mind and I think (re: hope) I did a good job of portraying that. Alright, everybody, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Until next time!

Love Always. Rukato Forever.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"


	21. Death Of A Warrior

A/N: You know, I wonder if they'll laugh when I am dead? Love and be loved. Read… and review!

* * *

Death Of A Warrior

I stare at the slender figure, the dark digimon that enslave the woman I love. I can not see the Dark digimon who had become my nemesis to this point. I can only see Ryo Akiyama and Henry Wong. I see the fiery hair and the violet eyes. I can almost hear her soft voice carrying across the desert to me. I can almost smell the perfume she would wear for me, the same perfume she wore on our first date that she knew I loved. I can almost taste her lips on mine. I can almost feel the weight of her body leaning against mine.

Almost. But I can not.

_'This is for Rika.'_ I lift my lance up, point it straight at her back, and whispered as softly as I can, "Lightening Joust."

My lance glows at the tip, powering up and then blasts off right for BlackSakuyamon. Everything grows silent as I watch this lightening bolt rocket off of my lance and fly through the desert air at the person I know and love. I am deaf to the Digital World as I watch it plow through her, totally absorbing her body in its explosion, because when the shot rings home… you never hear it.

"ARGH!" She screams out.

Immediately everything speeds up. I watch the explosion take place and then run right at her. BlackSakuyamon is a in a heap on the ground and I fall on top of her, pinning her to the ground in an odd position. I grab her by the hair and yank it violently so she is forced to look me in the eyes, "At last" I say, speaking quickly, but pausing here to savor the moment, "we meet again, isn't that right? Hello, Rika. I'm here to tell you that it's okay to come home. And I'm gonna end this as quick as I can, I promise."

She struggles under my weight, groaning at the pain, "Oh, don't worry, it's gonna be as pain free as possible. I'll make sure of that. It's been really real, BlackSakuyamon, but this is where the road ends."

I pick up my lance and position myself to stab her through the spine. I take one last look down at her when I see it. The typical yellow of BlackSakuyamon's eyes is now gone, replaced by completely black pupils. I've seen this song and dance before, a cheap tactic to clear out physical space. I jump off of her immediately and back up, cursing to myself. _'I should have known it wouldn't be that easy.'_

Her whole body explodes with black and violet energy in the immediate area around her, just the way it did when BlackWargreymon used this Darkness enforced attack. After the smoke clears on the self-destruction moment BlackSakuyamon shakes violently on the ground. I think for a brief moment that this could be my chance to end it, I even take a step towards her, but if I have learned nothing else from my battles with these Dark Megas, it's that its never that easy. I take the step back and prepare for her counter. And then it comes, as her violet fox of energy appears out of thin air and stares me down for a second, contemplating my existence, while BlackSakuyamon begins to get to her feet. I scream out, "BRING IT ON!"

* * *

"BRING IT ON!" I hear being screamed from not far off. _'That voice!' _

I turn and find Gallantmon not far off! He's alive! He's facing what looks like a floating, transparent smoke screen. Wait, no, that's a fox. _'Renamon.'_

I look around trying to find HiAndromon and find he is locked in a fistfight with an Triceramon. I quickly whip out my shotgun Berenjena, take careful aim and shout, "Double Shot!"

The blast shoots right through the Triceramon who is gone immediately. HiAndromon looks around confused before I call to him, "Kazu! Over here! Come look and see whose back?"

I point with the Berenjena towards the battle going on with Takato. He stands still, staring at me cautiously before following the direction of my gun and then his entire facial expression changes. He looks back to me quickly, nods his head and then begins running towards the red knight. Without a second's hesitation I do the same.

* * *

The violet fox stares me down for a few seconds, taking in my appearance, almost confused at the look of me. BlackSakuyamon stands on her feet and look directly at me, "What were you saying about the end of the road?"

A voice calls out of the wildness going on around us, "Gallantmon!"

I turn to follow the voice and find Beelzemon and HiAndromon, standing at the ready. "I think you're gonna need this" HiAndromon yells and then throws my shield at me.

I grab Aegis out of the sky and position it towards BlackSakuyamon. I nod to them and return to looking at Rika. The violet fox is no longer staring me down, threatening to attack, but floating just over her shoulder as she points her staff at me, saying, "Your shield and lance will be no match to my staff, Takato."

"I love you, Rika."

Electricity spurts up around her forehead but doesn't even make it to her neck this time. She must be prepared for this, "There you go again, whining about a dead girl, how adorable."

"If you only knew the half of it." I respond, knowing that it is time to fight for my 'Dream Girl.'

I go on the offensive, for the first time in a long time, and dash towards her, shield and lance pointed in preparation. BlackSakuyamon stoically watches me charge at her and then at the last moment she swings her staff up and blocks my lance, but my shield charges forward and I push up against her. I push her back a few feet before we both tumble to the ground, I losing my lance and she losing her staff. I crush her under the weight of Aegis. "Tell me, Rika, do you remember when I told you that I loved you? Do you remember?"

She growls up at me, struggling to break free. "DIE, TAKATO!"

Suddenly the purple and black fox returns, flies upwards and then dive bombs through my back! My chest burns like it's on fire, but these pains are nothing that I haven't already been dealing with, so instead of letting go of my shield and rolling away helplessly, like I would have just a day ago, I push back and go into a standing position. My upper body muscles pull like tightened strings from the pain as I reach down, grab my lance and take a few steps back. I look for her staff so I can kick it away but it's nowhere to be found. I try to stall, "Die? You mean like so many of your peers?"

She stands back up and now I find her staff, which is, of course, right by her side. She picks it up and returns to glare at me, "Die like so many of your friends. Like your entire army, like the entire digital world after I have killed you."

I bark back in anger, "Die like BlackWargreymon died?"

But this is something else. This was news to her. Her entire body language changes instantly. She no longer stands tall, glaring at me. Her shoulders droop, her head swings to one direction, her mouth hangs open, and her eyes suddenly soften. "You… killed BlackWargreymon?"

Is it possible that The Darkness does not know that its most reliable knight has been killed? Is it possible that he knows of none of our victories? Knows none of _my _victories? Do I tell her all of them now or hold it back to keep The Darkness at bay. No, he'll know shortly, once he begins checking. I'm sure he has ways to check. I yell to her, "That's right. BlackWargreymon is dead and he will never again terrorize the Digital World. Neither will ChaosJustimon nor BlackMegaGargomon."

BlackSakuyamon gasps, putting her hand to her mouth. "You didn't."

"Takato, did you?" I hear a voice call near by.

Both BlackSakuyamon and I turn to the lone remaining spectator, HiAndromon. Beelzemon is gone, probably off to help the fight that is going on. I never wanted to break the news to Kazu like this, but now I had no choice, "Yes, Kazu. They're all dead. I didn't have any other option."

He stares solemnly at me and I stare back. After a few more seconds he nods his head. He understands. Quickly, he turns and returns to the war that is going on around him. I look back to BlackSakuyamon, who looks dumbfounded. "Rika, it doesn't have to be like this. Not anymore. Just give up. I promise you—"

"Promise," BlackSakuyamon snaps out of it, "you never stop promising. Even when you broke the damn girl's heart, you're still promising."

Of course. She's trying to break my spirits, trying to derail me from speaking directly to Rika myself. It will be harder this time. I was able to get through to Sakuyamon before, so it will be more difficult this time. She continues, "I must say, I'm impressed. I didn't think you had it in you to kill your closest friends. Do you really think you can do that again to the girl you claim to 'love'?"

She thinks she can weigh me down, but I know if I want Rika to come out I need to go right for the heart, "Do you remember what happened when I told you I loved you, Rika? Do you remember?"

She points her staff at me, and calls out, "Ura Izuna."

This time her main attack is different however, instead of being squeezed by a giant energy fox, four different foxes fly out from her staff towards me. Dark Red, Violet, Black, and Dark Yellow. They fly at me but I will have none of this, I swing Aegis at the first two, the Dark Red and Dark Yellow foxes, and they disappear on impact. The Violet and Black foxes come towards me. I point Gram, my lance, at them and shout, "Lightening Joust!"

The blast shoots through the foxes, destroying them, and BlackSakuyamon stands stock still as my attack flies just over her shoulder, missing by just a few feet. She seems upset but also bewildered at my fighting back. I take this opportunity to speak quickly, "You looked me in the eye and you tested me, Rika. You asked me if I really meant it. You didn't say you loved me too, not right away."

"And she never will, now that she's dead." BlackSakuyamon says, running towards me.

It's my turn to stand stoically as the imposing threat comes right at me, "All the pain you've been through in life. All the hurt. The way you're Dad treated you and walked out. The way you've never really connected with your Mom…"

She is upon me but I put up my shield, blocking her staff from it's bone crushing intentions and she pushes me backwards, screaming in my face as I go on, "the way you're afraid of losing your grandma, the way you lost Renamon for what you thought was forever. And then I have the nerve—"

"SHUT UP!" She stops pushing and then just begins beating her staff against Aegis. She's completely lost her composure at this point and I can see the electricity building, spinning around her neck and moving down her arms.

"—to bulldoze my way into your life and in just a few months come out of no where and tell you that _I _love you? Like anyone ever could? Like I _really _meant it? Who did I think I was?"

She screams out, "DIE!"

She jabs at the shield with her staff once, twice and then on the third I make my move. I lift my shield up, drop Gram on purpose, and slide out of the way as her staff goes to the spot I was just standing. I grab her staff with my right hand and yank it will all of my force. BlackSakuyamon comes towards me, not letting go and I follow through by swinging my shield at her head, connecting square on her forehead and knocking her to the ground. She releases her staff and I hold it sky high, away from her. I spin away from her quickly, hold the staff in the sky with both hands and bring it down on my kneecap. Just like that, it snaps in half! Escaping from the staff is a scream like a fox being fatally shot. I toss the two halves away and they explode into data. I quickly pick my lance up from the ground, turn back to Rika, and point Gram directly at BlackSakuyamon's throat. The electricity is slowly running up and down her body. I speak softly, "Do you remember what happened next, Rika?"

She glares up at me, defeated and she knows it, paralyzed by the electricity that threatens her hold. She can't focus on both physically fighting back me and mentally fighting back Rika. I continue, "You cried into me, sweet tears of happiness, because you knew that I was being true to you. That I meant it. You knew that finally you could admit it to yourself that you felt it too."

Her eyes close and then there is a brief moment where the black of her body fades to gray, but it never reaches yellow. She speaks as if she could pierce me with her words, "Rika feels it right now. She feels my undying hatred for you, Takato Matsuda."

I just smile at her. She knows that she is lying to both of us. I speak slowly and softly, "Was that how she felt about me before autumn? Before she wanted to change who she was and before I needed a friend more than I needed myself?"

Again BlackSakuyamon fades to gray but then immediately back to black. She screams out, "Stop it!"

"Rika pulled me out of the pouring rain and told me that I was going to be alright. That I was weak and pathetic… but I was going to be alright."

"You still _are_ weak and pathetic!" she hissed back, the electricity growing even stronger, her body now fading back and forth between gray and black continuously.

"Do you remember, Rika? Come on, come out of there, Rika. You remember. You remember feeling safe around me. You remember that if things weren't all right you could say that. You remember that you could be yourself around me, not the tough girl you had to be around everyone else."

"I'll be myself around you once you're DEAD!" she screams.

"We stood outside of Yamaki's apartment and you looked me in the eye and you just knew that I needed you. You tackled me into the pond and we fell into the water. The way we spent hours on end just talking. Sitting in that chair by the window, watching the rain and the thunder with you. The smile you gave me," I said, lowering my lance to her stomach, "that you kept hidden from the rest of the world! The way we kissed! The way it felt like electricity," I raise my lance up, "I love you, Rika!"

I bring Gram down and break through the electricity, slice through the digimon, cut through the girl. She screams out, "AHH!"

Her entire body changes from black to yellow and the screaming melts away to a whimper. Her eyes look up into the sky for a few moments, unmoving and unfeeling. She blinks twice and then they move, first away from me. Then her eyelids close for a moment. She opens them up again and looks straight up at me. She takes a big gulp of air, breathing in the desert, fighting for life, trying to survive. Finally she looks up at me once again and whispers, "Takato."

"Rika," I whisper back.

"You did it. I'm," she reaches for breath, "so proud of you."

I almost can't handle seeing her like this, in so much pain. "Rika, I'm so sorry."

She coughs and groans at the same time, "Don't say you're sorry. This is how it must be. We must all die so that you can…"

"Save your breath." I plead with her, and she nods in agreement.

"What's going to happen to you?" I ask, letting my fears take over.

"I'm not going to get in your way ever again. There's no one left, Takato. Only you and The Darkness. You can stop him now."

"I never wanted to hurt you," I say, my chest now burning from the pain I feel for what I've done to her, not from her attacks.

"I know, Takato. I understand."

"Rika, I love you so much." I feel an unforgivable pain build inside of me. How could I do this? How could I kill Rika? What have I done?"

She reaches up and touches my face, "Takato, I will always love you. I'm sorry I let this happen."

"No!" I intervene, "No, Rika! This is not your fault. You did nothing to deserve this. I should have been there. I should have been there to protect you."

"But you can't kill yourself _now_ for not being there _then_." She says softly.

I run a hand through Sakuyamon's hair. It's not right that this is happening and we are not ourselves, that we must subject Guilmon and Renamon to our pain. Renamon! Oh my God. "Renamon, I'm so—"

"I wanted this just as much as Rika did," she interrupts me, "and if nothing else I am sorry for not protecting you when I was with you. I should have and could have done so much more."

The pain sears my entire body. I can't believe any of this is happening, "Rika, I'm sorry. I love you. Forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive, Takato. Nothing to forgive."

"What do I do now? I'm lost without you, Rika. I can't go on without you. I can't do this alone. I need you. You can't leave me."

"Takato, you're not alone. Look around," she says, nodding her head towards something.

I turn my head and find that we are surrounded with allies. I had been so focused on Rika and Sakuyamon that I lost awareness for everything going on around me. There stood Beelzemon and HiAndromon. Jeri and Suzy were being protected by Puppetmon. Kenta stood tall, MarineAngemon just over his shoulder, smiling encouragingly at me. MetalSeadramon waged war in the background, along with a small number of others. The battle at Terrier's Lake was won, and now my team stood by my side, watching the death of the most important person in my life. I looked back down to her, "Rika…"

"Takato, you've done everything you've had to do. Now end it. You have to defeat The Darkness, it's" she struggles for her breath, "up to you. You'll never be alone. I'll always be with you. Always."

I shake my head and I feel the hot sting of tears slide down my face. But it is not Gallantmon's face that they slide off of, but of my own. I gather Sakuyamon into my arms and lift her up, careful to position the lance so that it doesn't go any further into her. I feel the tears run down my cheeks in waves, and the crushing pain in the pit of my stomach knowing we don't know what is going to happen after she is gone. I stand in position and grip Gram tighter, prepared to say goodbye, and I whisper, "Rika, I'll never let you go."

"I know, Takato. Now end it and send us home. I'll be waiting for you, in my room," she whispers because she can not speak.

"And I'll sit in the corner, and we'll just watch the rain come down," I say, remembering that fateful June day.

"And we'll just talk, for hours," she says.

"And never really talk about anything," I add.

"Yes, Takato. I promise," she whispers.

A brooding voice suddenly booms over us, "That's enough."

* * *

I look around to find the source of the voice and realize at once that I have forgotten my most important enemy. Henry and Terriermon warned me that he was coming! How could I forget about him? The voice booms over us again, "What a shame such a strong group had to perish, but I suppose that's the price I have to pay to get rid of me."

Appearing almost out of thin air The Darkness, the Dark Me, walks out into the opening and stands a several feet from me and stares at Guilmon and I and Sakuyamon. He has no soldiers beside him, no one to protect him. He has come alone while his army has fought a losing effort. I look him in the eyes, still careful not to move too much with my lance for fear of hurting Rika anymore than I already have, and yell out, "So you just let your soldiers die while you watched? And now you come to rescue Rika again?"

"What a fool am I? You think I come here to save the girl? I come to bury her."

What? What does he mean bury her? I give him a bewildered stare and that's when Rika grabs me tightly, "Takato! You have to be strong for me, don't let him get to you. Fight him with a clear mind! Don't forget about my promise, I'll be—"

"I said," The Darkness speaks over her, "that's enough."

Suddenly, he reaches his right hand out towards Rika and me! I pull her tighter and look her in the eyes, preparing to remove the lance so he can't claim her for himself again like he did last time, "Rika, I love you."

I watch as over her shoulder The Darkness closes his outstretched hand into a fist, "Takato, I lo—AHHH!"

Sakuyamon! With the close of his hand her entire body disintegrates around my lance! The shaman princess explodes into nothing but data! There is nothing, no remains.

Rika is dead.

"NO! RIKA!" I scream out, reaching out grasping at the data as it streams away. I try to grab hold of it and bring her back but it is gone in a matter of seconds.

He… he killed her. He killed Rika. I look right up to him with a fury in my entire being I'm not sure I have ever known. My blood boils, my heart explodes, my every nerve races and twitches. "You fucking monster."

"Yeah, yeah, I killed the girl you slept about that time so long ago, I blah blah, but never forget," he says, giving me a greedy smile, "that we are one in the same. I just do what you are incapable and unwilling to do."

I've never wanted to kill someone so badly before. I've never thirst for blood like I do right now. He just killed the only thing I had worth living for, the girl who saved me from myself. I scream out, "You and I are _nothing_ alike."

He smiles at this! Not just smiles, he laughs! He chuckles at me and then says, "Perhaps all this time in my world, and, ah, in that suit of yours, perhaps you've forgotten what you look like? But we're pretty alike, you know."

"_Guilmon, are you ready to kill this guy or what?" I ask within ourselves._

"_Whatever you want, Takatomon! He can't delete Renamon like that and expect to get away with it!"_

"_Alright, boy, give me another second and then we're gonna try a Lightening Joust and then figure it out from there."_

"_Okay!"_

"What makes you think you're going to succeed in killing me this time when you have failed already before?" I challenge him.

He just smiles again, a smile I want so badly to smack off of his face, "Look at our precious girlfriend? I let her live before and now that she is dead you think that I will fail to get rid of you?"

"Look at your precious Darkness soldiers," I yell, expanding my arms to my surroundings as if you say 'look at whose left.'

"Your army is defeated again and now I have killed your strongest body guards. One by one, all of them are dead. BlackWargreymon, ChaosJustimon, BlackMegaGargomon and BlackSakuyamon. All dead."

"Along with all of your closest friends, Me," he shoots back.

"Once you're gone they'll come back, I know they will." I respond powerfully.

"HA! Is that what I think will happen? I am terribly mistaken, I'm afraid! Even if you do somehow end my reign over the Digital World, your friends are _never _coming back."

I explode with his taunts, "ENOUGH! LIGHTENING JOUST!"

I shoot the blast right at him and just before it hits I watch it fly away, far off into the distance behind him. "Is that all I have to offer?"

Suddenly a voice screams out, "Try this on for size! Double Shot!"

I look to the side and Beelzemon is firing his double barrel shotgun at The Darkness. He lifts his hand up just before the bullets reach him and they stop in mid-air! They drop to the ground and he smiles viciously at Beelzemon and the other Megas, "Now that's more like it! Let's see more of _that_!"

Without permission the other Megas attack. _'No! This is what he wants!' _HiAndromon rushes forward first followed by Puppetmon and Beelzemon, MarineAngemon following up on the rear. "No! He wants you to attack! Stop!"

* * *

I rush forward ahead of my fellow Mega Level digimon right for the All-Dark Takato. We have to do this! For Ryo and Henry and Rika! For Takato! For all the digimon this jerk has killed and will kill if we can't succeed. Guardromon and I thunder towards him and he displays a stupid grin on his face, waiting for us to arrive.

HiAndromon and I are within a few steps when it happens. He holds his hand up and points his palm at me. Wait, I've seen this before…

_VRUGH!_

A wave of black energy is shot at us. No actual energy is shot but it feels like a gigantic gust of wind blown right through us. Before I can even think of what just happened I feel an emptiness in my stomach and I feel desert air hit my face. I take a few more steps, shortened significantly, and tumble over, falling flat on my face, crash landing into the desert. _Gallantmon and Takato! _He did this to Gallantmon and made them de-digivolve! I look over my shoulder and, sure enough, there is Guardromon, face down as well. Oh my God, we're defenseless!

I look back up at The Darkness and I am met with his solid black eyes staring down at me. He says in a low voice to me, "Tsk-tsk, what a shame to lose a friend like this."

He raises his right hand and forms a gun with his thumb and index finger! He points it at me and smiles. _'This… is it. He's going to kill me.' _Before he pulls the trigger though, he drags it across the desert and points it… at Guardromon! "Watch out, Guardromon!" I scream and turn my head towards him, "Guardromon, no!"

"Kazu!" he screams back.

A feel a wave of something blow past my ear and then Guardromon is gone! He explodes into data and disappears forever. _'Guardromon… no. He… he killed him. He killed my partner.' _I turn back and look at The Darkness, embodied by Takato. He turns his attention back to me, sneers, and then flicks his wrist at me the hand-gun.

"WHOA!" I scream out as my body flies into the sky.

I go rolling across the desert sand for a few seconds, each roll a new bruise, every rotation another agony screaming through my body. I suddenly feel myself bowl through another person and they crash land on top of me. I open my eyes finally and realize I have clipped Jeri by the kneecaps. She lies on the ground yelling out in pain just a few feet away.

* * *

He killed Guardromon, just like that. Without exerting any effort or showing any remorse. That bastard! _'This is my chance, I have to make him pay!'_

I fly towards him, Puppetmon just in front of me, MarineAngemon to my left. Having dispersed of Kazu he now turns his attention to our triangle. He puts his hand out towards Puppetmon and then snaps his wrist downwards. Immediately Puppetmon stops in his tracks, his knees buckle and he falls onto his face! With quick reaction, The Darkness then points his right hand towards myself and MarineAngemon! He makes as if he was back-handing one of us and MarineAngemon screams out, "Phoo!"

He is out of the way and it is only the two us now. I run full force at him, point my Blaster at him and prepare to shoot. Just before I can get a blast off, however, he puts his hand up in a stop sign. I can't move a single muscle in my body. I am frozen in my spot and the next thing I know he his slowly closing his stop sign into a fist. I feel my whole body tingle and grow with a bright light. I feel myself shrinking and I already know what's happened. I can't stop him now. No one can stop him now.

He pulls his fist towards his body and I involuntarily fly towards him! He reaches out for me just as I'm about to crash into him and he grabs me by the neck! Immediately I lose all air and stare into the eyes of my most hated enemy. His dark eyes meet mine and we stare into one another for a few moments. I don't let my fear show in these waning moments. I need to be strong and show him that I do no fear him. I can not let him know that he has won. Cannot give in.

"IMPMON! NO!" I hear Gallantmon scream out and then he is followed by a chorus of others.

For just a moment, The Darkness pulls his eyes away from me to peaks at Takato and the others. Without looking back to me he says, "You're friends can't save you now, you know that, right?"

"No one can help me now, and I wouldn't want them to any way, you punk."

His eyes dart back to me, and he smiles at this, "You've been a pesky pain in my side for several years now, you know that?"

"And I've only just started." I whisper back.

He laughs and pulls me closer, so that we are just about nose-to-nose. I breath him in now. The enemy I have fought for so long, who I have held off and repelled and punched and counterpunched, now stands before me, holding my life in his hands. His power is greater than anything I ever imagined. Gallantmon and I barely defeated BlackWargreymon. What chance did I ever really have to defeat The Darkness by myself? The entire digital world truly lies in the hands of Takato now. He speaks with almost a laugh in his voice, "You've been an admirable opponent, but in the end you never stood a chance!"

"What end? I'm gonna be the one who kills you, fool." I hush back to him.

He's just about giddy with this response, "Hoo ha ha, it's really quite funny, when you think about it, isn't it? You fought me for years while I just watched you struggle in futility. I just loved watching you squirm."

"Yeah, well BlackWargreymon really squirmed under my sidearm when I killed him."

He laughs at this, "Oh, I bet he did! You think I cared about him? Like it even mattered? You spent years trying to kill him, and now I'm going to kill you in a matter of seconds."

I don't say anything in response and he just smiles and stares into my soul. Now he stops laughing and grows serious. His expression changes to bored and he says, "Good bye, Impmon."

He raises his left hand but I don't look at it. I keep my eyes glued to his and just before he swings his hand I whisper, "You'll never kill me."

He swats my whole body with his left hand and a pain I haven't felt since Gallantmon and the D-Reaper beat me down comes rushing back to me. But it feels stronger this time. I feel it enveloping my whole body as I crash into the desert sand and go rolling along for hundreds of feet further. I feel my right arm digitize and shake to a point of deletion, but it doesn't reach that point as I come crashing to a halt. The deletion has not come. Not yet, at least.

* * *

Impmon goes flying across the desert and there is only myself and MetalSeadramon left. I quickly turn to him and yell, "MetalSeadramon! Protect the others!"

He nods and quickly flies to protect Kazu, Jeri, Suzy and Kenta, just a few feet away, but totally unprotected at this point. MarineAngemon had landed right back into Kenta's arms but he was completely out of commission. I needed someone to protect them, in case I was unable to, but I suppose, if I can't stop the Darkness now, no one can.

I march towards him and yell out, "This is _our _battle, leave everyone else out of this."

He smiles to me and as I close the distance to within twenty feet. He raises his palm up to me, "If this is our battle then let's make it an even platform then, why don't we?"

_VRUGH!_

His icy cold voice sends chills up my spine but that is nothing compared to his attack, which pulls all the plugs on Gallantmon and I realize that I now stand before him without Guilmon. I turn around and he is lying face down, clearly exhausted and defeated, "Guilmon, I love you buddy, but this is my battle."

He looks to object but can't, he opens his mouth but it is The Darkness' voice that screeches over his, "Well let me just take care of that for you then."

I watch as Guilmon's body slowly slides across the desert sand and towards MetalSeadramon and the rest of them. I turn back to The Darkness and it is just he and I, his hand having moved Guilmon all by itself. He looks up to me and takes a few steps closer. I stare at myself and can't help but wonder how I had let it all reach this point. Where there was no hope but for me to defeat my greatest opponent single handily, in a fist fight. I am the first to speak, "Hello, Me."

I join his rhetoric in the hopes of throwing him off but he just seems to enjoy it, "Oh, you've finally learned have I? It is Me! I am you. You are I."

"I'm going to kill you," I respond.

He shoots me a smile and asks, "Just like you killed Roy Akiyama, Henry Wong, and the beloved Rika Nonaka?"

"Just like I killed BlackWargreymon, ChaosJustimon, Black—"

"OH STOP IT!" He screams over me.

I stare at him dumbfounded. What, what just happened? He goes on, clearly agitated, "You and your compatriot Impmon clearly think that I care for those digimon you killed. Do you know who I am? Do you know what I am capable of? Do you think I _need _those Digimon? Do you think they are important to me? Do you think I can not raise up different, more powerful digimon? WATCH THIS."

Suddenly he takes a step back and puts his arms to his side. He raises both palms to the sky, and slowly, as if there is some force working against him pushing his arms down, he raises his arms and open palms upwards. The ground shakes violently near by and out from the desert floor on either side of him rise dark figures, one standing on two legs, the other on four. His arms come to a halt once his upturned palms reach his shoulders. He curls his fingers inwards and then the two forms take shape! Oh my God. The one on the right takes the form of _another _BlackWargreymon! He suddenly yells out as the second digimon, the one on all fours, takes shape, "Do you see? Do you see now? How little I cared for those digimon you killed?"

My worst fears are realized as the Darkness digimon on the left takes the form of a BlackMetalGarurumon! The two come to life and breath in the air. They stare at me and growl. The Darkness booms over their growling, "Impressive, no? No? Oh, well, then, allow me."

Suddenly he slams his two hands together in a clapping motion and then the two digimon follow suit! The BlackWargreymon and BlackMetalGarurumon fly at one another and crash into each other in the air! A dark light explodes from their collision and I have to turn away for a second while the light grows brighter! The light fades and I look back.

"Allow me to introduce you to," The Darkness speaks as a pure black body appears in front of me, with yellow toe-claws and yellow claw markings on its chest. Red lights pop up on its face and in the center of its chest. A black and red cape descends from its back. Out of his left shoulder extends the head of the BlackWargreymon and from there a sword extends down from the mouth. Out of his right shoulder extends the head of the BlackMetalGarurumon and from there a giant cannon comes down from the mouth, "BlackOmnimon!"

The eyes come to life and scan the surrounding quickly before arriving on me. He points his Transcending sword down to me and I stare up at the blade, no more than a few feet from my face. The Darkness calls out, "How proud are you now of your defeat of BlackWargreymon, Me?"

I stare up at the sword, speechless. I had never seen such a digimon in it's own right, let alone infused with Darkness. If this was the extent to The Darkness' power, then we truly did not have any hope. The Darkness yells to me, "Now, let's take care of your little pet over there. BlackOmnimon, attack!"

BlackOmnimon swings his sword away from me and points it towards, MetalSeadramon! I scream out, "MetalSeadramon!"

"Be strong, Takato Matsuda! I will deal with this fiend! RIVER OF POWER!"

BlackOmnimon does not even react, he just yells back, "Termination Sword."

It's not even close. BlackOmnimon's attack vastly overrides the River of Power and crashes into MetalSeadramon! There are screams from Jeri and company before BlackOmnimon points his BlackMetalGarurumon head towards his enemy and yells out, "Chaos Cannon."

The blast takes off and completely overrides MetalSeadramon and in a matter of second the Mega level digimon is completely gone! Just like that, we are all defenseless. What now? I turn back to BlackOmnimon and then The Darkness. He smiles at his creation and then turns to me, "Do you see now, Me? The destructive force I am capable of? The power I wield?"

I say nothing as I sit in stunned silence staring at the Dark Me. I don't let on about my surprise however, as that would only give him everything he wanted. I just stare solemnly at him, waiting for him to call off his monster. We both know that BlackOmnimon can't kill me, just like BlackWargreymon couldn't kill me, just as none of his creations could kill me. He has to be the one. There can be no other way. He seems to acknowledge this, finally, as he calls out, "BlackOmnimon, back down. This one is mine."

The giant unholy knight takes a few a steps back and then The Darkness steps forward towards me. We stand about fifteen feet away. He smiles at me and I just stare back. I need to find out right now what will happen when we try to destroy each other. This bastard has killed Rika and now Guardromon, Impmon and MetalSeadramon, along with countless others! I'm going to—

"Oooh, you're mad, I can feel it, Me. Hold that though," he says while raising his hand into a stop sign and I feel my entire body tense up. I can't move. I can't do anything. I've lost total control of my body once again. But what does he mean he can feel me being mad?

He speaks as if he's devouring his own words, and he begins walking the short distance between us, "Oh yes, your anger is rising. Yes, this will be just perfect. _Time to die!"_

I am unable to move and just watch him close the gap between us. No! I need to find a way to break free and fight him myself! I can't let him just kill me without putting up a fight. But what do I do? He has total control over my entire body! Just like he did when I tried to kill BlackWargreymon all that time ago and just like he did last time we faced off. What do I do? He closes within ten feet. Here he comes. This is the end.

"NO!" A voice screams out and then a flash appears before me, in the shape of a body, standing in the few feet that remain separating The Darkness and me.

It's Kazu! He stands between the two of us with his arms outstretched, his whole body being a shield. "You can not kill him, I will not allow it."

The Darkness, again, just smiles at him. "You foolish, foolish boy. Let the important people take care of this matter."

He raises his hand into the stop sign that he has used so effectively to this point and points it at Kazu. He flicks his wrist back towards the group.

But nothing happens. Kazu stay standing between us, his arms still outstretched. He stands valiantly between the two of us. Does The Darkness not have control over his body? But, he just tossed him like a rag doll earlier? What is going on? "You have killed too many and done too much damage. This ends here!"

"What is this, boy? Out of my way, now!"

"You'll have to kill me yourself to get to Takato. No more of your tricks." Kazu speaks almost out of his body. How is he doing this? How is he so brave without Guardromon? Without anyone?

The Darkness looks angrier than he has ever been around us. He quickly closes the gap between himself and Kazu and screams, "FAIR ENOUGH! DIE!"

The Darkness brings his fist into Kazu, who raises his left arm as a guard and then a scream lets out, "RAGHHH!"

But it is not Kazu who screams. It is The Darkness! He screams out in agony. He looks down at his right arm, which he had just brought down on Kazu's left forearm and I catch glimpse of it. Almost as if someone had extinguished a shallow fire with an entire bucket of ice water, his right hand is completely gone and his skin smolders and melts away like it had been completely burned off! He screams out louder this time, "RAGHW!"

His scream is bestial and the look in his eyes is that of a wild animal. He stares at Kazu like he's seen a ghost. "YOU WILL DIE FOR THIS!"

He swings his left hand, his full, free hand, backwards, towards BlackOmnimon, who immediately explodes into data and disappears into the wind, rather than streaming upwards like he'd been defeated. Now he takes a step back from Kazu and bring his left hand up swinging, creating a windmill motion, directed towards Kazu.

Suddenly, the sand around Kazu launches up and grabs hold of him! It spins around his ankles, up to his knees and towards his lower body. At the same moment The Darkness explodes into data and also disappears into the air. The sand wraps around Kazu's waist and he begins to move his hips and swing his arms frantically. The sand swallows up his torso and climbs up his body! It slides down his arms and he reaches them out to their full extent to his right and left, palms turned skywards. The sand wraps around his neck and his screaming stops. He looks to the sky and lets out one last cry, "TAKATO HELP!"

I am too dumbfounded to even move to his request. I can't feel anything and just watch as the sand runs over face, into his mouth, suffocating him, and overriding his entire face and hair. The sand tightens suddenly and then sinks in until it solidifies and the sand is no longer sand but, instead, turns to stone.

Kazu stands before, spread out like he had been crucified on a cross, turned completely to stone. I was too late to help him. I didn't even move to help him. He stood between myself and imminent death and now… now he is dead.

Kazu is dead.

* * *

A/N: An emotional and action packed chapter. "Death Of A Warrior" has been planned in my mind since pretty much the beginning. I would mark the chapter's origins to the summer of 2008 (or right around when the fourth chapter, "Takato's Crucible," was written), meaning this chapter was 4 years coming when I finally got to write it. It turned into everything I ever wanted it to be, and I really hope you all agree. "Death Of A Warrior" really symbolizes everything "Promise" has come to be about: internal and external battles, emotional endings, total struggles, lots of fighting, and just when you think you're in the clear, well that's when your biggest enemy and greatest fear come to life. You're never out of the woods with The Darkness on the prowl. Also, for the first time in _years _I went back to look at my old works with "Autumn Leaves" and the earlier chapters of "Promise" and DAMN I just realized that FF changed their settings. I used to have these crazy weird dividers between peoples thoughts and points of view and now they are ALL gone. So when I get the time I'm going to go back and fix those so future readers won't get confused like some of my more recent readers have been. Sorry about that guys, I had no idea it had happened. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review it if you've finished reading because you know how much I love you're reviews. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time!

Love Always. Rukato Forever.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"


	22. The Golden Gates

A/N: This morning, you wake, a sunray hits your face, smeared makeup as we lay in the wake of destruction. Hush baby, speak softly. Tell me that you're awfully sorry that you pushed me into the coffee table last night so I can push you off me! Love and be loved. Read… and review!

* * *

The Golden Gates

In this moment, everything has changed. I can feel it. No more than five feet in front of me, in a spread eagle, was one of my closest friends in my entire life. Someone I had always known and counted on. I'm not sure I was ever aware of how much he meant to me. Kazu had just been there for me, through the good and the bad. All the card battles and tournaments attended. All the classes we didn't pay attention to, all the homework we didn't do. Sure we had our issues and our fights, but those were outweighed by the laughs and adventures.

But it was this last adventure that ended his life. I had dragged him through the Digital World once and that should have been enough. Now I had brought him back and he _died _for me. He went to the ends of the earth, fought alongside me, and battled beside me knowing that, unlike me, he _could _be killed by something other than The Darkness. He was the voice that spoke back to the plans to return to the Digital World, but ultimately fell in line. When I was exhausted from everything that happened, Kazu was the one who covered my body and let the others step on him rather than have them step on me. He was the one who realized it was the Dark Ocean World where they had been held captive. He was the one who digivolved to HiAndromon in the face of certain death. He attacked The Darkness head on. He lead my army to Terrier's Lake. He fought for me without a second though.

The words I once spoke to Rika, as well as BlackSakuyamon, come rushing back to me like a river, _"__Love! Love is being able to stare into the eyes of someone and know that you would do anything for them! You would cry for them! You would fight for them! You would protect them! You would _die_ for them!"_

Kazu loved me enough to die for me. Kazu died for me. Kazu loved me.

It just dawns on me that my body is free of motion and I can move my muscles again. I exhale loudly and draw in a large, hushed breathe. I didn't realize until now that I hadn't been breathing since Kazu had been turned to stone. Stone? Is that what he is now, a statue of somebody that I used to know? I move my legs but they are heavy and it's like riding a bike for the first time, it's like I don't even know how to walk. I cross the desert floor and take in Kazu's appearance. It looms larger than life; it's presence more significant than it's actual stature.

I stand directly behind it, the back of his head titled upwards as he screamed my name to the sky and called out for help. He screamed out for my help and I might as well have whispered back, "No."

I finally swing around to the front of it and meet his eyes. Frozen in time and stone, the look of horror is immortalized on his face. I look deep into them and try to bring him back to life. How… how could I let this happen? My eyes trace his outstretched hands, like wings reaching out to fly he extended them to their fullest and turned his palms skyward as if to ask, _'Why me?'_

I reach my right hand out towards his left and now I feel it: the cool, undeniable, smooth feeling of stone. I grasp his rock hand in mine. _'I don't know why you, Kazu. I don't know why.'_

For the second time in the last hour I feel it coming. I feel the fear of uncertainty stinging clear, and I can't help but ask myself if this is going to happen again. The pain is intolerable, I feel the tears stream down my cheeks. I put my head down and clench my jaw as I weep and whimper. So small and defeated I am, beaten by blow after blow after blow I've had to suffer, losing so many friends, but none because of my own inability to act. I had been doling out the kill-strokes, not The Darkness. I stood by and just let it happen, I was powerless to help Kazu.

A cold and soft hand clutches onto my shoulder, close to my neck, and I turn my head away and further towards my body. I don't want to look; not at Kazu, not at my friends, not at my fellow soldiers, and most certainly not at the person whose come to comfort me. I feel my hand slip off of Kazu's and fall to my side as my comforter grabs my other shoulder and lightens their touch to rub them. The tears finally slow, I sob and then clear my throat. I turn my head and find Jeri to be my comforter, her head bent down in reverence, Kenta just behind her. Suzy cries silently into Lopmon in the distance, MarineAngemon also crying by himself, and Puppetmon stares out into space, fallen on knees, clearly crushed by what's happened as well. We're all crushed by this but I need to be strong. I need to be the leader that they need. I suddenly shake, perhaps too violently and look up at the group, "Kazu is not to be moved. No one is to touch him."

There is a silent submission to this, as if they never thought otherwise. My mind now races as I try to think of what next to say, now caught with nothing else to say, but already speaking to the group. My mind races through what we've just seen. Rika dead, Gaurdromon dead, Impmon—

_'Impmon!' _I scream in my own head. I turn towards the direction that he had been blasted towards. Oh my God. I stare for a few more seconds and then take off running for his location. In my dust I hear Jeri scream out, "Takato! Takato, where are you going?"

Without even breaking stride I scream back, over my shoulder, "Impmon!"

* * *

I run for a minute or so when I see his mangled body in the distance. I can hear others coming but I don't have time to wait for anyone. I just run, as fast as I can but the very sight of his body is a relief.

Until I get closer. I close in on the last twenty feet or so and the sight abhors me. I finally can see his whole body and his left arm, where The Darkness had initially hit him, is being digitized. It fades slowly from life to death. I rush to his side and slide into the sand, "Impmon! What's happening?"

He looks up at me weakly and tries to smile, "It's up to you now, Takato."

"What! You're not…" I say, shocked. "Impmon, you can't."

He just shakes his head at me as his arm continues to slip between life and death, "I'm sorry I ever doubted you, Takato."

"Impmon, stop it! You can't die. We'll get MarineAngemon or someone to heal you. You're going to be alright." I desperately plead with him.

"It's too late, Takato," he says and suddenly his right arm becomes digitized as well. "I held The Darkness off for years, just biting my time, knowing I wasn't going to be able to defeat it by myself. I needed help. I needed you."

"No, Impmon… you can't let this happen. You need to fight it. Just keep fighting, please." I tell him, tears coming strong and hard again.

I turn back around but no one is even close to us, I open my mouth to call for them but then Impmon cuts me off, "No, Takato. Don't. I've fought for as long as I can. This is your battle now. It's up to you. Now this is your war. I know you can do it. I know you can."

I shake my head at him, the tears overtaking me. How is this happening? How did I let this happen? He speaks softly, "It's up to you now, Takato. Good luck."

I lose myself to the tears and look down at him, trying so hard to not break down. "I'll see you again, Impmon. Promise."

He lets out a small chuckle and whispers, "Promise."

He relaxes and looks into the sky and just lets go. His arms disintegrate and then the rest of his body follows. His legs and body delete and slowly his head and face follow, as he just stares, knowingly, into the sky. He accepts his deletion, welcomes it even. He is dead. He is gone.

* * *

Jeri comes to a screeching halt next to me. "Takato! Impmon he—"

"I know, Jeri. He… he didn't want to be saved," I say, staring at my feet.

Out of my peripherals I see her look at me, aghast, gasping for air she says, "He… he what?"

I look to where he had just been lying a second ago and then turn away from both his spot and Jeri, "He said this is our war now. He said it's up to me."

Jeri doesn't move, doesn't react, at least nothing I can hear. I just stare off into the distance, at the Darkness Walls. In such little time I've lost so much, all at the hands of The Darkness. The first time he came he didn't do anything, besides scare us all. This time, he's taken everything from me. What will happen next time we face each other? How much will he take from me then?

"So… what do we do?" a scared and cautious voice cuts through my thoughts.

_'What do we do?' _What _do _we do?

Darkness covers over everything. What? What is going on? _The Darkness is coming! _Jeri! She needs to be protected. I quickly turn to her but I feel my muscles relax immediately as I realize what's happened.

She looks up into the night sky. I forgot how quickly it turns to nighttime in the Digital World. _'That was all one day? All of that happened over the course of just twenty-four hours? Not even?'_

The fear of The Darkness has my blood rushing. I look down at my feet as Jeri continues to look into the night. I need help. Clearly, I need help. I can't do this alone. I need advice. I need Rika. But will she even be there? How, when I killed her? She said she lost contact with Ryo and Henry. Does that mean they're gone forever? Can they still access my mind? Can they still help?

I guess there's only one way to find out. I lift my head up to Jeri and my eye contact draws her to look at me as well. We look at one another for a moment, my eyes betraying my serious tone. I want to be strong, but I blink back more tears, clear my throat and say, "Let's collect the troops around Terrier's Lake. We need to set up camp and go to bed."

The look in her eyes as I go to pass her tells me she already knows what's going through my mind. And it also tells me that she's skeptical. I slowly trod past her and the image of Rika's red hair and violet eyes penetrates me. I need her. Now, more than ever.

* * *

I lay in my tent, staring up at the beige peak. I had been trying to calm my mind before turning off the light when a soft tap came on my tent. I sat up in the sand underneath and answered, "Come in?"

The tent slid open and slowly Jeri, Kenta, Suzy and Lopmon squeezed inside. Jeri sat in the corner opposite of me, Kenta up against the entrance, directly across from me. Suzy snuggled up against me and Lopmon snuggled up against her. There was basically no room left for any of us and then I saw Puppetmon standing awkwardly just outside, on one knee, peeking inside. Guilmon laid on his stomach peering in as well and MarineAngemon silently slipped through the entrance and floated into Kenta's lap. Once everyone had settled in there was an awkward silence as we all just blinked at each other for a few seconds before Jeri finally said, "Takato, we wanted to talk to you about—"

"What's gowing to happen to Henwee?" Suzy cut her off.

I looked down at the little girl sitting just next to me and had no answer for her. I actually had no idea what was going to happen to Henry, I didn't even know where to begin explaining to her that I killed her brother with my own hands. Before I could answer, Lopmon jumped in, "Takato, what are our plans for tomorrow? What are we going to do?"

I'm a little irritated that she just asked that, considering she knows that I don't know, and that I've made it very clear that I wouldn't until the morning. I look away and look at Jeri. She stares with such a ferocity it's like she's trying to bore into my soul. I look away from her and to Kenta now, who is looking down at the ground but he's struggling. He wants to say something, I can tell. He wants to ask something or provide some comfort but he can't get the words to come out of his mouth. They're on the tip of his tongue but won't fight through his closed lips. Suddenly, a childish, croaky voice, one I haven't really heard yet, asks, "Mr. Takato, what are we going to do without Impmon? And Guardromon?"

The voice belongs to Puppetmon, whose features, now that I see them so closely, are almost disturbing. I guess this is my own fault. I should have addressed my army before trying to go to bed, so I could quell some fear. But I need to sleep. Don't they understand that? Don't they know by now? I respond, not masking the agitation in my voice, "You and Lopmon will take their place in rank. Don't try and dwell on them too much, because, you know, they're not coming back."

There is a sort of hushed silence in response to this less than considerate response. These people don't get it, do they? I _need _to see Rika. I'm hopeless without her, without these dreams. We're all hopeless. I turn back to Suzy and Lopmon, who look up at me clearly disturbed, "I don't know what our plan is for tomorrow. Right now we all just need to get some rest and we'll figure it out tomorrow."

Again a bothersome silence befalls the overcrowded tent. I look around again. Jeri continues to stare at me like a disappointed parent, and Kenta continues to try to build the courage to say whatever is on his mind. I scan back and see Puppetmon clearly upset as well, and Guilmon looks on the verge of sleep. My eyes avoid Jeri as I speak now, "Alright, guys, let's go. I'm going to sleep, I suggest the rest of you do the same. We'll regroup in the morning and discuss again."

There is no objection, no voice of opposition. There are a few sighs and groans as those inside prepare to leave. MarineAngemon floats out first and as he does I see Puppetmon turn and walk out of sight. Suzy and Lopmon stand up and slowly trot out and behind them Kenta slowly follows suit. Only Jeri remains and she makes no motion or any indication that she intends to leave. I look outside the tent and see Guilmon still lying there, staring inside, but not at me or Jeri. I call out to him, "Hey, bud, can you give us a minute?"

As if just noticing me for the first time he lifts his head and blinks his giant, dinosaur eyes at me. He nods quickly and then slowly gets up before following the direction all the others took off in. As soon as he's out of sight Jeri reaches up and closes the tent so that it's just the two of us. She does not move otherwise, and only stares at me solemnly. I stare back and we just look at each other in silence for a few seconds. The sounds of an army of digimon settling in for the night supply the noise between us. Hundreds of crackling fires pop off both near and far but inside my tent there is no noise. Just dead silence between two friends who, just a year ago, were inseparable and such a silence seemed impossible. Now? It's like we are strangers.

She is the first to speak, "That was horrible, Takato."

I blink but do not look away, nor do I respond. She goes on, "Do you have _any _idea what these people just went through?"

Again I do not respond, nor do I show any sign of weakening in my stance. She continues with her verbal jabs, "That was so insensitive that I can't even believe it came from you. Did Takato Matsuda really just say that Impmon and Guardromon aren't coming back?"

"Jeri don't—"

"Don't what, Takato? Question your leadership? I'm not questioning your leadership. I'm questioning your personality. Who the hell was that, just now? Have you really become so much of a jerk as to hurt the only friends you have left?"

"You have _no _idea what it is like to be in my position." I shoot back.

She chuckles at this, mockingly, and fires, "_Your _position, Takato? What exactly _is _your position? Enlighten me."

"Being responsible for the life and death of the entire Digital World. Being in charge of an army of digimon who look to me for they're every move." I say as she just patronizingly shakes her head and then I shoot at her, "To have the enemy _be _you."

This crosses a line of sorts, however, as she stops nodding and stares at me like I had just stabbed her through the heart, "Oh? Oh, I have no idea what you're going through? Is that right? I have no idea what it means to have someone take over your body and mind and, ya know, represent everything that's evil about you? I don't know what that's like, right Takato?" she says and I feel my defenses soften as I am reminded of what she went through, "I was a prisoner once too, ya know. Not in the same way as Rika but it was _still _pretty bad, if I do say so myself."

Another uncomfortable silence falls over us. This time I avoid eye contact and just look at the tent walls, examining how it grows tight in the corners and loosens as it gets further away. I follow the tight to loose, loose to tightness back and forth a few times before finally Jeri breaks the silence again, "I know you want to go to sleep and try and dream of Rika, Takato," she says and my eyes immediately race back to hers. She looks at me with a much softer look now, comforting even, and continues, "But, what if she really is dead? What if _she_ isn't coming back any time soon? What are we going to do then? If she's really dead, she won't be able to help you, and we'll be stuck in the same situation in the morning as we are right now."

The thought of that had crossed my mind almost immediately and it frightened me but I fight through my uncertainties by saying, "I don't know if she's going to be there, Jeri. But there's only one way to find out," I say. She looks disappointed and drops her head. Then a thought comes to me, "but something I do know is that she's been there for me so far and she was there for me _last autumn_. So I trust that she'll be there now."

With this Jeri slowly picks her head up and looks at me, disgusted. She pushes open the entrance to the tent and, looking me in the eyes, says, "Alright, Takato, I get it."

She crawls out but stops once she's completely out, the entrance still open. She looks off into the distance and then back to me, and speaks softly, "Takato, I hope you realize something," she says and we continue our staring contest. There's almost remorse in her eyes, though, as she goes on, "that what happened last autumn, I never meant for it to negatively impact our relationship. That I wouldn't change a thing about it, because it brought you Rika, and it brought you happiness that I don't think you could have had with me. But if there is one thing that I regret, it's this," she says with a pause and I feel all of my defenses lower as she speaks, holding the eye contact, "that I wish I could have saved you from that storm. I wish I could have pulled you through the rain myself and lead you to the light."

I stare at Jeri with a pull at my heart. I want to say something, anything, to tell her that I forgive her. That it's alright now. I want to say anything at all, but I can't pull myself to do it and then finally, she smiles weekly and says, "Goodnight, Takato."

The tent entrance closes and I watch as Jeri's silhouette stands up and stalks away. I turn to the light, sitting in the center of the tent and quickly switch it off and roll over into my sheets and pillow, letting Jeri's words wash over me.

I think back to that fateful day, looking up into her eyes, knowing she was being true with her brutal words. "Just friends." I think of the pouring rain, and the first time I lost control and just ran and ended up at Rika's doorstep by a stroke of fate. Rika welcoming me in. Our conversation at her window. The same one she promised we'd have when we got back to our world. The way we fell in love. I try to think about Rika. I try to imagine her. The scream she made when he deleted her. The horror on her face. And then she disappears from my hands, deleted, gone forever.

I roll around trying to bury the image from my mind. I see Ryo, my lance wedged into his body, his head facing me. I see Henry's body, a gaping hole in his chest made by me. I see his body disappear. Rika disappears, completely gone forever. Guardromon, shot out of existence. Kazu. Turned to stone. In front of me. And Impmon. Speaking softly to me. Telling me. And Rika. And Rika. And Rika. And. Rika. Rika.

_'saved… that… storm… wish… could have… pulled… through… rain… and lead you to the light'  
_

* * *

Then I saw many lights. Green… Red… Blue… White… Lights… everything was so bright I was blinded... but I wasn't falling. Bright lights shot into my vision. I blinked a few times and opened them up and I stared down at my sneakers. I stood on concrete ground, green grass near by, red and blue flowers just within my peripheral vision. The sun-kissed ground swept out like a long road underneath me. I looked up and take in my surroundings but… I know this place. Not even remotely far from my memory I recall the path that lay at the foot of the staircase to the old hideout where I used to keep Guilmon, where the portal to the digital world laid. I look around in amazement and soak up my surroundings.

What am I doing back home? Why am I here? All of my other dreams, they always involved being in the digital world, or being suspended mid-air over castles, and canyons, or fields of grass with Rika. Or in that strange case with Jeri, it involved my very resting place. But here I am, at the bottom of the staircase, looking at the stairs to the old hangout. Slowly, my head moves up and I follow the steps to the old gated hideaway. Why am I here? How am I back in the real world? I stare at the hangout and notice the gate hangs open, the wind blowing it slightly, making it clang softly every few seconds. For a second, I swear I hear a giggle coming from up there.

I move towards the steps involuntarily and begin to ascend them, their steep incline drawing me further into the sky with every step. Halfway up the steps, however, I look out at the skyline. The sun hangs just above the horizon, preparing to set for the night, but it is currently a beautiful shade of orange, the sky pink, and the clouds blue, violet and billowing. It really is magnificent.

I look back to the hideout, and continue up the steps. I reach the very top and Guilmon's hiding place lies just within reach, pitch dark inside. I take a step into the darkness and find the darkness extinguished and filled with light as I approach it. The small space lights up and I can see everything. The hole in the ground directly in front of me, where I know the digital portal lies. The space itself seems smaller than I remember it, but then again, I can't remember spending a lot of time in here recently. What am I doing here? What is here for me? I look around at the space once more and say to no one, "What am I looking for?"

"Only you can answer that, Takato."

The voice reaches to me from just behind me. The faces of Ryo, Henry and Rika race through my mind as fast as lightening as I spin on spot and am confronted with—

"Kazu!"

The wild haired, brown eyed card player smiles at me a bright and brilliant smile I never thought I'd see again. "Hello, Takato."

There are so many thoughts racing through my mind but the first thoughts that find their way out of my mouth as words are, "Kazu, I'm so sorry for everything. I'm sorry for putting you in a position to get hurt, for letting you get between me and The Darkness, and"

"I understand, Takato," he tries to cut me off.

"No, you don't." I correct him, before going on, "but most importantly I'm sorry for not jumping to your side when you begged me for help."

Kazu closes his eyes and bows his head momentarily, "Thank you, Takato. I can't tell you how much that means to me, how much I appreciate that you are sorry. I know you are and I know that you mean it. I know this may be the last time we see each other for a long time, so I'm glad you're saying all of those things to me."

I want to interrupt him and ask him what he means by that? Why we may not be seeing each other for a long time again? But I refrain from it and just watch as he fights back tears. Finally, he looks up at me, determined, and says, "Takato, I know how to defeat The Darkness."

This revelation shocks me. I look up at him with urgency. What is it? How do we do it? He has to tell me now, before the dream collapses! His expression remains calm and relaxed. "And so do you, Takato. It's just buried deep within you. You must unleash it to be able to stand up to The Darkness the same way that I did when I died."

I stare him in the eyes, completely bewildered. Suddenly the darkness of the hideout engulfs both of us! What is going on? Is the dream collapsing? Once again I am blinded by bright lights! I close my eyes quickly and squint to adjust to the light. Slowly I open them wider and the image comes into view.

Kazu remains the same, just a foot away from me, staring solemnly at me. However, absolutely everything about our surroundings has changed. The beautiful sunset I took in just a few moments ago does not hold a candle to the beautiful sight before me now. We are in the sky again, a fact that no longer shocks or really surprises me when it comes to dreams. However, I look around and find that unlike in other dreams where there was not even a single cloud in the sky, now our very footing is the clouds. We stand upon the beautiful blue and violet clouds and all around us is the pink of the setting sun. The clouds we stand upon, however, represent a road that leads to a destination that is just beyond Kazu. Reaching high up from the ground are gorgeous, shining golden gates. They stretch up fourteen feet or so and stretch the width of the clouds we stand upon. The gate hangs open, the wind blowing it slightly, making it clang softly every few seconds. It creaks open and closed. Are we where I think we are? How is that even possible?

"Takato, the other wanted me to tell you how proud of you they are." Kazu says, interrupting my thoughts.

I turn my attention away from the gates and return to looking at him. He looks sad now, no longer solemn and stone cold. "They know you can do this, Rika especially."

I nod this time as the image of Rika comes back to me for only the millionth time since she left us the first time at Terrier's Lake. I feel a surge of confidence come through me, knowing that Rika and the others have somehow communicated with Kazu and he is here now to deliver their message. "Takato, Ryo wanted me to explain something to you," he goes on. "When you fought BlackMegaGargomon, there was a moment when you went unconscious from his attacks. In that time, Ryo thought it was vital to show you something. He took control of your mind and showed you the truth of what happened the morning after they all abandoned us. It's truth that they all had the opportunity to access your dreams while you were unconscious but your fears were justified: once they all died they had no control and The Darkness had control. But when BlackMegaGargomon attacked you, somehow, in the Valley of the Shadows, Ryo was able to take command of your mind, even though he was dead, and show you the truth of what happened that morning.

"The first night after they were all taken captive _that_ was when The Darkness took over your mind and showed you your greatest fear: betraying Rika entirely and willingly. The Darkness _still _has a stake in your mind and he's going to have complete power over you soon, after I am gone."

Everything becomes so clear now. I had been so confused at the time, but there was no rest for the weary, no time to sit back and mull over everything that has happened. Everything is moving at such a high speed. So, even from beyond the grave, Ryo had come to my aid. He couldn't talk to me directly so he showed me that my greatest sin in the Digital World was just a mirage, orchestrated by The Darkness to weaken me. I wish I could thank him. I wish I could do anything.

Kazu jumps in again, distracting me from my thoughts, and speaks quickly, "Takato, you have it. You have it inside of you," he says and pauses and I feel my jaw drop. Something inside me rises. I feel my heart beat faster, my pulse quicken, my spirit soars. "You have the lightness, Takato. The power, the ability to be everything that The Darkness is not. You channeled it, briefly, when you fought BlackMegaGargomon. Do you remember?"

I think back to that moment, and shake my head, "Yes, I do."

"You need to access that again. But it's up to you to reach that," he says and pauses before smiling a very weak, almost forced smile, "So, Takato… what are you looking for?"

He suddenly turns his body and, with one last longing stare, turns his head away and begins to walk away! "Kazu, where are you going?"

He does not stop but continues to walk towards the golden gates and just calls back, "I can't say, Takato. I'm sorry. I love you, and tell the others and my family tat I love them too. I can't help you anymore."

I feel my spirits weaken and I want to do everything in my power to grab him and bring him back with me. I call out, "Kazu, is this goodbye?"

Now he stops in his tracks. He turn his upper body sideways to look at me. We stare at one another for a good long few seconds and then finally he dawns a giant grin, one a father would give their son, and says, "Only you can decide that, Takato."

He turns back around and begins to walk away again. I feel it happen again. I close my eyes and feel the pulling inside me. The sweeping sensation and the rush of wind to my face and then I open my eyes again. I stare up at the beige tent walls. I sit up and look around. Still dark out, there is no real light coming through the tent. I feel it all happening. My heartbeat threatens to jump out of my chest, my pulse begins jumping out of my veins but my body relaxes. I have it. I have the power.

I stand up and exit my tent.

* * *

A/N: Nice chapter, no? Although over 6,500+ words, this was a nice little break, if I do say so myself. Impmon died, that was super sad. I can't tell you how long I tormented myself contemplating killing him off or not. But ultimately, the decision was made and his death was planned into the plotline. It was a tough decision because killing him off meant basically leaving Takato out on a limb, by himself, to lead the army. And now here he is, alone without his closest friends and allies and he doesn't know how to handle it. It's hard to cope with death, let alone when you're personally responsible for that death or responsible by association. Takato holes up in his tent and when everyone comes calling he just collapses and can't handle the pressure. He needs guidance, but Rika nor anyone is there to give it to him at this point. I hope you all felt that this last dream was very dream like. I changed up my writing style for the dream sequence so that it flowed much more like a dream, I hope. This scene with Jeri was of the utmost importance to me. In the back of Takato's mind, he's always resented Jeri for that day. Even though it brought him the happiness he has with Rika, it was a rejection of the highest order, something you don't just get over. So in his beaten and weakened state, scared of everything and unsure of himself, he finds an opportunity to dig at Jeri and he takes it. She, being the mature and clear minded person that she is, despises him for being so crude in such a delicate situation but she knows that he's upset and she takes this chance to explain herself to him. She regrets it as much as he does, but not because of how things ended but because of _the way _they ended. She's happy for him, and she goes out of her way to explain that, and he is incapable of forgiving her because he just wants to hold on to that anger and hold it against her forever. But he knows he can't. You know he can't. I know he can't. And so we have the dream sequence, with a return to the real world, something so incredible un-dreamlike that even Takato notices it. But on top of that, it involves Kazu, someone that should have no power over Takato's dreams at all. The question is: has Kazu really come to Takato in his dream or did Takato simply dream of Kazu?

Love Always. Rukato Forever.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"


	23. The Lightness

A/N: Standing here the old man said to me, "Long before these crowded streets, here stood my dreaming tree." Below it he would sit, for hours at a time. Now progress takes away, what forever took to find. The Dreaming Tree has died. Love and be loved. Read… and review!

* * *

The Lightness

What am I looking for? I'm looking for something to light my path. I'm looking for a light at the end of the tunnel. I'm looking for the light.

My breathing is smooth and relaxed, like the rest of my body, even though the hot desert air tries to throw me off. It is still dark out, still night, but it is time to face The Darkness. Time to embrace the power and answer the call. It is time. Out of the corner of my eye an orange and red light catches me off-guard. I turn towards it and find Jeri and Kenta sitting by the campfire, taking in its warmth as they sit awake. Suzy is asleep on the ground by the flames, Guilmon and Puppetmon sit side-by-side on wooden logs, with Lopmon sitting just a few feet away from them, MarineAngemon asleep next to her. No one notices me.

Perhaps I should just go on without them? Just slip out into the night and face The Darkness by myself. No, that is not how this should be; they should know that I am taking up the mantle, that I am taking charge and going forward. They should know that if they never see me again, it will because I fought for them, not because I ran like a coward. I take my first step towards the campfire and immediately Jeri's head shoots up to see me approaching.

She quickly nudges Kenta and he looks up at me as well. Their reactions to my presence spread to the others and everyone looks at me as I slowly move towards them. Strange as it seems to say, I feel disconnected from my body. Like when I lose control and I just run like madness, I don't feel like the driver of my body but more of a passenger. I feel lost for control as I prepare to take on my greatest enemy. I arrive at the campfire and everyone looks up at me, waiting for me to speak, waiting to hear the news. Had I seen Rika? Had she passed on a plan of victory to me? Did I know what I was doing now that I had slept? What was our course of action? None of it seemed to matter anymore. I have the answer that had been buried within for so long, "I'm going to face The Darkness."

Outrage pours forward in their eyes and body language and Jeri is the first to speak up, "What are you talking about, Takato?"

"I'm the only one who can defeat him. I'm the only one who can do it. Too many have died trying to keep us apart. I know what I have to do now."

Kenta looks up at me with a mixed look of sternness and admiration but does not speak. Guilmon stares up at me frightened, Puppetmon just gasps, unsure of what to do or say. Lopmon is almost relieved at the news, or perhaps she's just crushed under the weight of accepting that I was to die? Either way no one speaks again until Jeri nervously asks, "Well, did you see Rika? Or Henry or Ryo? What happened?"

"I didn't see any of them," I answer truthfully, "I just understand now."

They are stunned. I doubt any of them expected to see me again tonight, let alone so poised. No one speaks now as we all stare at one another, and I just smile at them. Whether this will be the end or not, I am to venture into The Valley of the Shadows and face The Darkness, alone. This is goodbye. "I don't know if I'll be coming back, but I am going."

I didn't just say it, I told them. They must be shocked by my conviction and certainty. They have no idea of how to react to what is happening before their very eyes. Their leader, the unflappable, undefeatable leader that had stood beside them through two war tours against the evil forces of the Digital World, is walking right into death. I take one long last look at their faces, unsure of what's going to happen next. Just as I turn to leave, however, a voice calls out to me, "Takato, wait!"

I spin around. Kenta is now standing up, and all the strength he has been gathering since Kazu was turned to stone is now evident in his eyes. He wants to say something. He needs to say something. He looks me right in the eyes and speaks boldly, "Takato, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

He quickly pushed his glasses back up his nose and says, "When I left for the Digital World, my Mom told me that she was OK with it. That she wanted me to go because fate brought me through it once before and it would bring me through again. I believe that she knew something that we didn't. She knew that we'd be faced with a challenge we never could have imagined."

I nod as he speaks, "But most importantly she told me, that she trusted that angels would watch over me. And now, now that we're here and after everything that's happened, I absolutely believe that angels have watched over me and that they watch over you too, Takato."

'_That angels will watch over me,_' the words reverberate around my head and Kenta continues, "And now, with whatever is going to happen," he looks around, unsure of himself, "with everything that's happened to Kazu and Ryo and Henry and Rika, I know, that whatever you are going to do, angels will continue to look over you."

His words take on life and cling to me for their last breath. I know what he means by all of this. I nod emphatically, and quickly turn back around to avoid any further eye contact. Even with my eyes dry, I don't want them to see any weakness that may betray me. My feet move one in front of the other and I resume my role as the passenger in my driving body.

* * *

I've walked across my camp and off into the far distance. I don't want anyone to see me disappear into the Darkness Walls. I turn back and now the bright glowing flames of the campfires are nothing but flickering lights on the horizon. I turn to the closest Darkness Walls, just five feet in front of me. They stand so still, unmoving and solid. How is it that I just pass through them? How is it that on the other side of these walls will stand Mount Sakuya, and the resting place of The Darkness? So close, but so far away. But not close enough.

I take the few steps towards the walls, my body tensing up as I prepare for the sensations that will overwhelm me. I close my eyes but as I close the distance, however, a sweeping feeling of lonesome overcomes me. My onerous voyage has come so far, so far without the physical help of Rika and company, and now I will embark on the last journey, to the peak of the digital world, alone once more. I wish it would change. I wish that they could be here beside me for my last journey. A new sensation, a warm rushing to my heart comes over me. I can sense The Darkness Walls are right before me and I slip into them.

There is the temporary moment where my entire body is paralyzed, the ice-cold water of the Darkness Walls washes over me like a rebirth. I come into my own in the Valley of the Shadows but I stand still, my eyes remaining closed as I listen. There is a soft patting of nimble footsteps near by, the sand crunching beneath the weight of those around me. I open my eyes and they are neither dead nor alive. They are neither real nor dreams. They are light figments of my imagination that I have breathed life into for just a moment. In a land of desolate black, their white light stands out likes stars on the blanket of the skyline. They appear to be made entirely of light but seem so full as to be almost solid.

To my left, hair elegantly disheveled, confidence emanating in his gait, a boy dressed in a black t-shirt and khaki shorts. His blue eyes look me up and down ferociously. He grins a cocky smile, as if he always knew I'd make it this far and he'd just won money on it.

To my right, a boy who looks much more serious, although relaxed and happy. He is one of smooth hair, left however it was when he awoke, and he stands with his arms crossed as his gray eyes scan me up and down. Wearing a snug light green shirt with jeans he observes me with patience.

Directly in front of me, however, is the only person who matters. Her blazing looks are all the richer because of her all-light complexion. She wears a pink silk shirt with a white skirt and a tiny white ribbon in her bright red, well kempt hair. An outfit that is just oh, so familiar. She does not smile at me but looks at me with a small frown and hands on hips. Her violet eyes devour me, ravishing every inch of my body.

I step forward, towards her and my own brown eyes swallow up her presence and take it all in. I felt I could stay there forever, staring at her, and that would be enough. But that would never suffice and finally, Rika speaks, "Have you found what you were looking for?"

I look from one friend to the next, my brothers, and say confidently, "I have."

"Well then, that's all you need," Ryo says, both congratulatory and reassuringly.

"Takato, we're all so proud of you," Henry speaks almost before he can stop himself.

"I know. I just," I start and stop. The apologies have been issued so many times to them in my dreams and in my head, but I now struggle to force the words to physically leave my lips. I had told them I was sorry when they were merged with their partners, but there was just something so much heavier about it when they were facing me as humans. "I'm sorry. I never meant for any of you to get hurt."

They look at each other for a second, a knowing look coming over them, and Henry speaks first, "We know, Takato. We know how hard this has been on you. We just wanted to help you."

I turn to Ryo and his head bobs to the side as I speak, "I'm so sorry for everything. For everything before we came here and for the way I acted and treated you and then killing you."

He smiles a loving smile, "Takato, I understand."

I quickly turn to Henry, but he cuts me off before I can say anything, "You only did exactly what I asked you to do. You liberated Terriermon and me. We had to die and you had to be the one to set us free."

I turn now and face my 'Dream Girl' and she smiles brilliantly at me. The words come slowly, "I let you down. I didn't watch over you. I didn't protect you. I should have been there for you when you all were trapped in that cave. I should have done more."

"Takato," she says quietly, "you have done enough."

I look down at my own sneakers in the desert sand. A thought quickly arises in me, and I look back up to the trio and ask, "Will you go with me?"

Ryo smiles brightly at this, "Till the bitter end."

Henry nods his head at this and I turn to Rika now. The words come to me from another place, like they'd always been there, just waiting for the right moment, a sensation I was not unaccustomed to when it came to Rika, "Yes, and though I walk through the Valley of the Shadows, I will fear no evil. Because you are with me."

She too flashes a loving smile and we are off. I take a long stride to walk beside Rika while Henry and Ryo are immediately at our either side, Henry to my left, Rika and Ryo to my right. We four walk through the Valley of the Shadows, slowly trudging through the sand towards Mount Sakuya. I felt my heart beat pound valiantly against my chest and I felt a surge of joy overcome me and, like them, I felt surrounded by the white light. The lightness arose from within my heart and spread around me like an aura. I suspect that this was how they felt, being made completely of white light. I feel so warm and yet so tired, but still we march on. We four, we few chosen ones, we march on forward through the Valley of the Shadows.

* * *

We pass many empty craters where howls are heard from, dying digimon who will not be deleted, who will suffer a human death. I had seen them when I first arrived, that poor Gabumon dying, but this time I do not stray from the path but steer clear of those death craters. These digimon will be saved when I defeat The Darkness, until then I can do nothing for them. Through it all Ryo, Henry and Rika do not leave my side. We march on, their strength carrying me, my strength carrying them. The lightness of feeling from within never leaves me but seems to feed off of their lightness, growing stronger with each step. I feel so pure, so clear.

As we approach the base of the mountain, however, is when the party begins, I suppose. As we draw closer I see a slew of Darkness digimon hanging about, watching us. "What are we going to do about them?" I ask.

"Don't worry about them, Takato. We'll take care of it," Rika answers without hesitation.

"How will you fight back?" I ask, unsure but confident in them nonetheless.

"They can't fight us. To them, we are imminent death," Henry responds, seeming both solemn and joyful. Sure enough, as we reach the base of the mountain the Darkness digimon scatter like scared animals, running up the side of the mountain and as fast as possible. We cut through the heavy darkness with our bright light unimpeded.

We ascend Mount Sakuya quickly: the hoards of digimon that run from us increases exponentially as we climb higher. As we walk up the mountain slowly I look up to the peak, where I'm told The Darkness awaits me. There is a bright, dark star that seeps violet light through the clouds surrounding the peak. I contemplate it for several minutes; my eyes never leaving the sight of it as Rika and company guide me up the mountainside. I never imagined I would traverse an entire mountain by myself, let alone with such ease, but I guess I never imagined myself being surrounded by the light spirits of my dead friends either.

I look back up at the dark, violet star and it is no longer miles upon miles further away. No, instead, now it is close. So close I can see it clearly, no longer any clouds blocking my view. I look out towards the horizon and our ascension has finally reached the peak. We have climbed Mount Sakuya and now, just coming into view I see it: at the tip of the mountain there is a black throne. It faces me and in it sits the dark version of myself, sitting there, patiently waiting.

I look now to my right and they are gone. I slowly turn to my left and my suspicions are confirmed. Rika, Henry and Ryo have abandoned me. But they are with me, always in my heart and mind. I do not break in my climbing. I approach The Darkness with the same vigor and courage I had before. I take note of the surroundings now: BlackOmnimon sits on The Darkness's right and a Kimeramon, as fearsome as it had been depicted in the TV series, sits on his left. So this is his last defense? This is where it will end? After all the walking, all the climbing, after safely traversing the Valley of the Shadows, I come to a stop and stand before The Darkness.

There is a long few moments of silence as we just stare at one another, my light brightening everything around us. Kimeramon leers down at me and BlackOmnimon appears ready to attack at any moment, but The Darkness just stares at me from his throne. Not a word is said. The black and violet light that had created the gleaming from before is a large orb that floats a hundred feet in the sky, just above us. I want to know what's inside of it but there are more pressing matters. His black, dead, beady eyes look out at me and finally, he squints them and smiles a smile fit for the Devil, "Takato Matsuda… finally come to face himself."

* * *

The air at the peak of Mount Sakuya was thin and thus easily drawn. It calmed my breathing as I stood just a few feet from my greatest enemy. It relaxed my body and made maintaining my light aura possible, for now. He sat on his throne, which I could see now was made of solid black gold, with black velvet and black ruby diamonds built into it. All the makings of a throne fit for a prince of darkness.

BlackOmnimon and Kimeramon growled in my presence, ready to attack at even the slightest indication. Each of these digimon alone would be a difficult challenge for Gallantmon, but together they'd be unstoppable. I wonder for a second why he did not just unleash them on the Digital World, and my own army, sooner? What was he waiting for? My gaze returns to The Darkness, who continues to hold that evil grin on his face. "Have you come to die, Takato? Finally succumbing to your greatest fears?"

"I've come to vanquish you from the face of the Digital World and set everyone free. I fear no one."

He likes this though, as he shifts position on his throne to the edge of his seat, grips the arm rests and his evil grin becomes a maniacal smirk, "You fear _no one_! You fear _no one_? _YOU FEAR ME!_"

With these last words his voice changes from the high pitched, icy cold to hoarse and animal-like as his eyes bulge and he now resembles his henchmen digimon, ready to attack. I must remain calm and focused, never let his tricks and tactics get the best of me. I just shake my head slowly, "My greatest fear is not that I am inadequate. My deepest fear is that I am powerful beyond measure. It is my light, not my darkness that most frightens me," I say and it scares The Darkness. He reclines into his throne like a king too old to go on, and I continue, "My playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that others won't feel insecure around me. We are all meant to shine, as children do. And it's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as I let my own light shine, I unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As I'm liberated from my own fear, my presence automatically liberates others."

I feel the white aura surrounding me grow brighter. I can feel all of them, Rika and Henry and Ryo, I can feel them speaking through me. I can feel Kazu empowering me to face The Darkness like he did. He lies back lazily in his throne, he head sunken and expression sullen. His eyes never broke from mine and now he grows angry and yells, "Kimeramon, kill him."

"RARGH!"

The mutant digimon launches off from his standing point and rushes right for me. The image of Ryo's cocky expression dawns on my mind and I unconsciously throw up my right hand at Kimeramon into a stop sign, in the same way The Darkness had done against myself, and so many others. My lightness explodes from my outstretched hand! Kimeramon's Kabuertimon/MetalGreymon face comes stretching out for me but stops! I never close my eyes, never blink, never look away.

"RAWR!" he screams in my face, just feet away, but he cannot move any closer.

I feel my heart accelerating and see the light aura grow stronger and brighter as I hold Kimeramon at bay, but something pushes out from underneath me. I feel a strength from another place come through me and I know what to do. I slowly close my hand into a fist and even as Kimeramon screams in my face he is slowly enveloped in the lightness and then begins to disintegrate! It starts slow and then finishes quickly as the all-powerful digimon is deleted!

I look back to The Darkness, who sits up straight in his throne, eyes bulging again but for a different reason this time. He refuses to believe what just happened right in front of him. I stand up to my fullest height and address him, "Face me yourself, you coward."

He sits back in his throne and slowly turns to BlackOmnimon, "Finish him, you fool."

Again he sends his underling after me. BlackOmnimon immediately produces his Termination Sword and his Chaos Cannon. He points the sword at me but before he can say anything, my mind immediately thinks of Henry's concerned and thankful expression. I lift my left hand up and he stops moving. All of those times The Darkness used these attacks against us, and now I possess all the same abilities. I turn my left hand around so that my palm now faces me and I quickly pull it towards my body. BlackOmnimon involuntarily flies at me and once he gets close enough I outstretch my right hand at him. This time much faster than with Kimeramon, he is deleted and it takes place in just a second of me throwing up my hand.

The Darkness is aghast! He now stands up from his throne and yells at me, "What is this nonsense, Me?"

"There's no one left. Just you and me now."

He grows angry at this, I can see it on his face. Before he says anything, though, he puts both hands in front of him in a diamond formation and suddenly a ball of black energy emerges and shoots right for me! My instincts take over and I lift my arms to swat the blasts, and it works! The first shot goes flying into the distance, far away. Everything I do shocks The Darkness. He changes expression now, however, and fires three more shots! Again, I swat the attacks with my arms as they are in flight and they deflect away! Now he stands stunned and unmoving. _Now!_

I move towards him, slowly closing the gap of twenty feet or so. His expression changes to horror and he quickly begins firing shots at me again. This time, I do not make a move to deflect them. Instead, they fly at me and crash into my white aura, disappearing on impact. He fires ten shots and all of them explode into nothing once entering my lightness aura. I push through all of them and just keep walking until I reach the throne.

He has stopped firing now and we stand directly opposed to one another, inches separating our faces. I look into my own eyes and the white light emanating from myself shines brightly against his gaze like nothing ever before. After all of this time, all the searching, all the fighting, all the killing, all the friends lost. This is what it was all leading to: this moment. This opportunity for someone, for me, to face The Darkness one on one, stand before him and strike him down. He speaks in a hushed tone, as if he were in a church, "What are you?"

_BOOM!_ My right fist crashes into his face and sends him tumbling backwards into his throne. He looks up at me in horror, his cheek red from my mark. I do not wait for his counterpunch; I bring my fist back down into his face again. This sends his head into his throne and it ricochets off of the seat violently. He groans a little bit, the very first sign of weakness he's given off in all of this time. I grab myself by the shirt, turn around and launch him onto the ground. He rolls for several feet to the spot where I had been standing before I came after him.

I turn my back on his darkness throne and begin to slowly walk towards him. He collects himself on the ground, rubbing his cheek and looks up to see me approaching. He stands up just as I'm about to close the distance between us and he turns on me with fists ready. He throws his right fist at me, but I throw up my left hand and catch his fist midair! We both look at the clutched hands, as darkness and lightness intertwine and push against one another. Now we look back at one another and before he can react I throw my right fist into his stomach! From this I hear a hissing sound, like a hot pan hitting cool water. I look down and I have left a mark on his stomach with my lightness. He doubles over and clutches his stomach with his right hand and with his head bowed I take advantage of his exposed position. I slam my right fist into his head and he crumbles to the ground as I let go of his fist so that he now lies on his back.

I look down at him, the monster who has terrorized the digital world for years while I lived in the real world. He is the one who fed off of my fears and pains and reveled in my travesties and breakdowns. He is the one who enslaved Rika and all of my closest friends. He is the one who killed Kazu. He is the one who will pay.

I lower myself and swing a leg over his body so that I straddle his torso. He is disoriented from my headshot and isn't looking up at me. I reach down and grab the sides of his head to force him to look up at me. Now, in such a vantage point, I can see the fear in his eyes. For the first time ever, he has no power. He is the one who is trapped under the weight of another.

"This is where it ends."

His eyes are full of hatred and rejection, "It will never end. As long as you live, I will live in you."

I raise my fist up but stare at him confused now, "What?"

"I am a part of you, Takato!" he says, pleadingly. "I represent your every downfall, every hubris. Every lie, every fear. Every dark desire you've ever had."

He has a smile now. There's a sparkle in his eyes, one that could only be held by a man preparing to die, but finding an opportunity to escape. I must crush his escape, "I have no dark desires."

"Oh no! None, whatsoever?" he says and now there is a fire in his voice, he's getting bolder. "The things you've though about Rika in the comfort of your room? The ways you've treated her with your mind? The things you've done to her? And Henry? How you've bested him in so many ways in your mind, and Ryo and the way you've outdone him? And the things you used to think of Jeri, that I know are still buried in your mind, bound to arise with time!"

He reaches up and grabs me by the throat and I can't resist him. Everything he says rings true and cuts to my core, I feel my light weakening. "See, that's the thing about you and I, Takato! We're one in the same. I just do and say all the things you ever wanted or thought."

I feel my body become light. I am lifted off of his torso and off of my feet. I'm spellbound by what he's saying. He lifts me by my neck, strangles me and I fight for breath as he lifts me into the sky, "Join me, Takato. Together, we can accomplish everything you've ever wanted. I can bring them back, you know? I'll bring them all back and they will serve us. They will be our slaves as we rule both worlds. Join me, Takato."

His words are mesmerizing. As I lose the air in my lungs my hands reach up and grab his to try and pry his grip loose. I notice that the light around my hands is almost nonexistent. I have lost the power. I have lost the way. "BlackWargreymon told you that you've been dead for a long time, didn't he? Well, that's the truth, Takato!" He says and my eyes begin to close but I force them open, force myself to stay alive. "See, I am you, the dead you. Everything about you that has died inside through life represents everything that I am. You see, you _have _been dead for a long time and I have been living for just as long!"

I feel all of the power leave me. Everything is going dark, "Yes, Takato. That's right, just let it all go. We'll be one soon enough," he says and my eyes close. "Don't you see now? We're really not so different, you and I.

_'We're really not so different?' _We are not so different? No. There's nothing further from the truth. He wants to destroy the digital world and the real world and cover it all in darkness. I want to save both worlds and cover the night in light! I want to save them all: Suzy, Kenta, Jeri, Ryo, Henry, Rika and Kazu. MetalSeadramon, Guardromon, MarineAngemon, Puppetmon, Terriermon, Renamon, Cyberdramon, Guilmon, Impmon. I'm not here to enslave them or condemn them. I'm here to liberate them. To let my light shine so bright that it allows their light to shine. I am not the darkness. I am the lightness!

My eyes flash open. The Darkness stares at me, shocked to see me alive. Its like a spear is piercing my body. But it's warm. The spear turns to a light, which grows and burns The Darkness' hands. He lets go; I drop to the earth and then an explosion!

_BOOM!_

Light explodes from my body! There is an area of bright, white light surrounding myself and after a few seconds it dissipates and the glow from my lightness is all that remains. I look around and find The Darkness lying face down a few feet in front of me, groaning again. I walk over towards him and stop next to his defeated body. I bend down so that I am almost face to face with him and now he rolls over to look at me. He has cuts all over his body and face, with blue blood oozes from his damages. He looks at me with his right eye sealed shut from a cut just above it, "I know the rage that drives you," he says, clearly weak for breathe. "That impossible anger strangling the grief, until the memory of your loved one is just poison in your veins. And one day, you catch yourself wishing the person you loved had never existed so you'd be spared your pain."

"You know nothing about me."

"Not true," he says with a cough and his voice still shattered like glass. "This entire time you'd been fighting with a rage to avenge Rika and now, now there is nothing. Tell me, do you wish _she_ had never existed? Or Jeri? Any of them?"

I've had enough. I grab him by the collar, lift him up to my fullest height so we are eye to eye and hoist him into the air. "You know, I wonder if they'll laugh when you are dead?" he says now that I hold him high.

I look deep into his eyes again, into my eyes. We will never be the same person, no matter what he says. He taunts me again, "Why are you dying to live? When you're just living to die!"

He has a nice giggle over this to himself and I just look sternly into his eyes. "Tell me," he says, trying to buy time, "do you think they're coming back? Rika and all of them? Do you think killing me will bring your friends back? Because it _won't_."

I look deep into his pupils, lean closer and whisper, "I guess we're going to find out."

"I am The Darkness! You will never escape me, Takato!"

"This ends right now. Your reign of terror over the Digital World is over. You and I will never be the same. You represent all the shadows that creep across the lands. I represent all the light that fights back against those shadows. You are The Darkness. I… am The Lightness."

Before he can say another word I launch him into the sky. I look up at his body as it floats like a rag doll right above me. I place my hands over my head, bring them together in the shape of a diamond like he had done, and point them right at him. Rika's loving smile explodes like fireworks into my mind, burning, burning like a candle, and never dying out. I think of Kazu and his smile at the gates of heaven. I think of Henry and Ryo as they guided me through the Valley of the Shadows. This is for all the people that I love. This is for them.

A ball of bright, white light draws from my hands and gathers until it becomes the size of a tire. I point it directly at the dark version of myself and then I let go. The Lightness energy takes off and flies high into the dark sky. It soars like an eagle and then it crashes into The Darkness. A scream is heard that echoes across the valley as if it was right next to me. The energy blast suddenly takes on a cosmic explosion and white light blinds everything and devours the night sky, overwhelming myself and all of the land around me. The light swallows up the Valley of the Shadows; it envelops anything and everything until it washes over the entire Digital World. It grows so bright and so powerful that it is blinding. I shut my eyes and now I cannot see to see.

* * *

A/N: Hello, again. Yes, it's me. I don't have much to say about "The Lightness." Alternative titles to this chapter were, "The Valley of the Shadows" and "Takato's Crucifixion." I really don't want to say anything that might spoil what will happen next in "Promise," so I'm going to say very little about this chapter. If you felt like the scene with Rika, Henry and Ryo was similar to the end of _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_, chapter thirty-four, "The Forest Again," well, you'd be right. I had always wanted to have a scene where the three of them came back to help him in some way just before his big battle against The Darkness, but I couldn't think of a way to make it feasible. Then I read _Deathly Hallows _(years ago, after I had started planning the ending of "Promise") and knew exactly what I was going to do. How does Takato see them, you may be asking? Well it has everything to do with him being embodied by The Lightness. Ryo and company had the power to come into his mind when he was unconscious in The Valley of the Shadows, but with The Lightness on tap, Takato was able to channel their energies and give them life through The Lightness. The major quote that Takato started off his battle against The Darkness with is a personal favorite quote by Marianne Williamson. Moving on, some of The Darkness' bolder words were quotes taken straight out of my author's bio so if you thought you recognized them somewhere, well you can just check in my bio. Also, these last few chapters have gotten kind of religious with "The Golden Gates" being self-explanatory and then Takato using the famous quote from Psalm 23:4 that was used. True story: the name of The Darkness' realm of 'The Valley of the Shadows' derives entirely from that quote and I named it that so many years ago always with the intention of using that quote in this very important point in the story. Also, if you remember when I had everyone telling their parents that they were leaving for the Digital World, I made a note to have very little on Kenta and even made a joke about it at the time, but I planted that quote from his mother there always with the intention of using it here, late in the story. I was really hoping it could help give his character some depth due to the fact that he's always just been someone who sat on the sidelines and cheered everyone else on (both in the series and in this story). I'm sad I couldn't explore the death craters that spew across the Valley of the Shadows more thoroughly, I had bigger plans for them when this all started, but I just never got around to it. Also, I felt like I was cheating you all with a shortcut the way Takato and company just marched right up the side of Mount Sakuya without any confrontation, but if I had them fighting through endless armies of digimon to reach the Darkness I'd have at least another whole chapter on my hands. I did feel bad though, and I apologize. Otherwise, I really hope you all liked this chapter. I felt really good writing it and I'm proud of how it turned out. Okay, peace!

Love Always. Rukato Forever.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"


	24. At Last

A/N: A little belated 2012 Christmas gift to everyone! Love and be loved. Read… and review!

* * *

At Last

All encompassing darkness grabs me and pulls me under. I feel it suffocating me. Crushing my lungs, gripping my limbs. I grow stiff until self-preservation kicks in. I feel my body fight back, grasp for life. I open my mouth and inhale, and the euphoria penetrates me. I open my eyes.

I have not seen the light like this since we arrived back in the digital world, and now it is nothing to me but blinding!

Like a pipedream of Christmas morning, my entire surroundings are bright white snow and slowly sprinkling down from the heavens are small white balls of light. As if salt was steadily being drifted down by the clouds, the lights poured for as far as my eyes could see down on to the Digital World. What are they? And the snow! Mount Sakuya, just moments ago, was a barren apex of darkness, and now it spreads out majestically.

_CRACK!_

I turn suddenly on spot to follow the sound. My eyes are met, not with a throne made for a king of darkness, as I had expected, but with more beautiful scenery. The snow top mountain peak is all that I say and so the sound disturbs me. Is this a trap by The Darkness? Have I truly defeated him? Is it over or is this just another one of his tricks and ploys?

_CRACK!_

This time I follow the sound directly and my eyes shoot straight into the air and I must shut them once again. I look right up into a giant, white, rotating orb. The black ball that had emanated a pseudo-light onto the area had been washed away into a white ball that was crumbling apart. It was shattered like a crystal ball. But… what… is it?

_BOOM!_

It explodes and lights shoot out, bright lights that blind me, as my eyes have still have no adjusted, and I hear a small voice yell out, "Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa!"

I hear a soft thud and crash and then something slides towards me. I don't move, I don't even open my eyes. I just patiently wait for the follow-up sound, the confirmation that what I suspect is at my feet _is _at my feet. "Well you didn't have to be so mean about it," the little voice scorns.

Fly open my eyes to a sight I never thought I'd behold again: nestled amongst the shattered white glass, slowly trying to prop himself up, almost disappearing in the snow, was the adorable little furry creature I knew and loved. He looked up at me and we stared at each other for a second, before exploding, "Calumon!"

"Takato! It's really you!" he says and launches his little body into my open arms.

I grab him and hold him tight against my body. I had almost forgotten about my little buddy with all of this chaos. He rubs his nose against my chest and grips my body with all of his might. I look down at him and he speaks, "I'm so happy to see you, and not that scary dark you from before."

My eyes grow wide. The realization crashes over me that Calumon had come face to face with The Darkness and somehow survived. Just the idea of these two having seen eye-to-eye is shocking. "What happened with the dark me, Calumon?"

He suddenly pushes away and drops to the ground. He looks up at me with a huge smile on his face, "Let's talk about that later, I wanna play!"

He hops past me and starts heading back the way I had come up Mount Sakuya. I follow his skips and can't help but marvel at him. He was just held captive in a ball of darkness for probably years and he just pops out and all he wants to do is play? Maybe I shouldn't be surprised? He's getting further away and I take off after him, "Calumon, wait! We need to talk!"

"Play! Play, play!" he yells back and takes of running down the mountainside as I chase after him.

* * *

It is an interesting sensation, running through the snow. I had climbed Mount Sakuya, guided by the lightness, without much effort. But that was when this mountain was a lifeless rock. Now it flourishes with bright white snow, directly opposite of the darkness that had swept throughout The Valley of the Shadows. The snow is real; it chills my body and freezes my legs as I run after Calumon. I didn't feel it before from the exhilaration of victory, but now it wraps my body in its frost. I look up again and watch the small lights drift down from the earth, just like how the snowflakes at my feet once fell. _'What are they?' _I wonder but my mind changes once again to chasing Calumon who is moving swift for such a small creature.

"Calumon! Wait, I'll play but you have to wait for me!" I try to entice him.

It works as he now stops and turns to face me, "Play!"

He jumps once again into my arms, which I stretch out and pull him in. "Gotcha! Okay, Calumon, we'll play but you need to talk to me about what happened? Why were you in that black ball?"

"Boo!" he says in his squeaky voice and I smile, for the first time in a while.

"C'mon, buddy, I need you to talk to me." I say as I slow the pace and walk down the mountainside.

"But I just wanna play!" He exclaims and I can already tell it will be a long day.

Calumon took some convincing but after a few promises of playtime and food he finally told me the tale of The Darkness' invasion. Just as I was reaching the end of the mountainside he explained, "Well, when The Darkness came it completely surprised all of us. Especially me! Guilmon and Impmon and all them tried to protect me and hid me away for a few months but the Dark you eventually came for me."

"And what happened when he got you?" I ask.

He frowned at this and looked ashamed, "He used my powers to run his army."

"But he…" and then the realization hit me like a wave.

The Darkness had summoned endless armies of Digimon with ease. He was able to digivolve his own troops by sheer will. He de-digivolved and everyone else by force. I had never thought about the fact that he had to have digivolving powers in order to do that. And the only digimon that could do that is Calumon. Poor Calumon was at the center of all of this. Against his will The Darkness abused his powers and forced him to digivolve and de-digivolve any one and everyone. What do you even say to someone in that position? What can I even to say to him? Quickly my mind races to find a different topic, anything to draw his mind away from the captivity by The Darkness. "We, ugh, we need to find the others. Henry and Jeri and them."

"What about Renamon and Guilmon? And Impmon! We can all play!"

I smile down at him and I'm lost for words again. Impmon. Renamon. Rika. Is she alive? I hadn't thought of it since I defeated The Darkness. Are they alive now? Or are they lost forever? Is Kazu alive now? Henry? Ryo? Terriermon? Cyberdramon? But Rika…

"Do you think they're alive?" I let escape my lips.

I look down at Calumon from my arms, and he looks up at me and just smiles. The gravity of the question that I've posed to him, such a small and delicate creature. He doesn't know the weight of losing someone. He doesn't know the pain and anguish it would feel, nor should he ever know. But he just gives that same jovial look and replies, "Well, I'm alive, right?"

_'Yes… yes you are.'  
_

* * *

Another amazing change that has come from extinguishing The Darkness is that the sand that had been everywhere, the perpetual desolated land was now green, flowing grass. The Darkness has literally sucked the life out of the Digital World and eroded it to its core. It was such a strange sight and feeling, having fought and lived solely on sand this entire time, the green was just itself a shock to the eyes. Calumon and I walked for several minutes back in the direction that I thought was my base. Then out of the horizon I saw it appear like a black dot. The one dot evolved into several and they continued to grow larger and larger until I realized what I was seeing. I took off sprinting and out from within my arms Calumon yelled out, "Yay! Friends! Guilmon!"

Guilmon was the first to meet us and Calumon leapt from my arms into Jeri's as Guilmon and I embraced into a tight squeeze. "Takatomon! You did it!"

"Oh Calumon, I thought I was never going to see you again!" Jeri squeals.

"You're freaking alive!" Kenta says as he joins the massive hug that Guilmon and I are embraced in.

"Where is Henwee?"

The jubilation that I had been immersed in a moment ago disappears like the darkness that had covered the Digital World. Just those three words are enough to level the reality with the current situation. I release from Guilmon and Kenta and look down at Suzy. She stares up at me with big eyes, full of innocence, honestly awaiting an answer. I can only tell her the truth. "I'm not sure, Suzy. But he's here somewhere."

Lopmon slowly follows the rest of the group as she watches the sky. I turn my attention to above as well and find the snowflakes I had seen from the mountaintop are much bigger now that I've descended the heavens and returned to sea level. Much bigger, actually. I step away from the group slowly and watch as one snowflake flies closer and closer to us. It gets larger and rounder as it gets closer. But those flakes aren't just white. They have rings around them. Lightly colored rings that encircles the objects. The one flake floats from the sky and grows brighter in my eyes as it gets closer. I reach my arms up as the white ball with three light pink, horizontal stripes lands softly in my hands. It's a… digiegg?

These things don't exist, I thought? Not in the real digital world at least. In the show, sure, but there were other things in the show that never came to be. The digivices only came as far as our D-Arcs. The crests never materialized and never will, to the best of my knowledge. But here, right before my very eyes, in my own hands, I hold a digiegg.

"Amazing." Lopmon says right beside me.

I turn to her with the same look of surprise I just gave the digiegg. "What's amazing?"

"I never thought we'd see these things again." She says in awe.

"Again?!" I say, even more shocked. "You've seen them before?"

"Well, they've come twice before supposedly but I've only ever seen them once before. And there's rumors that they may have come once before even the first time."

"What is going on, I thought digieggs didn't exist." I try to reason with her.

"Look around you, Takato," she says as she looks to the skies and my eyes follow. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of digieggs floating down from above. "They exist, and they're everywhere."

The lore that Lopmon must be enthralled in, from her days as one of the Devas, gives her much credibility. But my argument comes to mind before I can filter it, "Then why didn't Leomon ever come back? Everything that dies in the Digital World is gone forever."

"Leomon wasn't the victim of a fate outside the realm of the digital world. The legend is that fates uncontrollable by the Digital World will be amended in time." She says calmly and without strain. "We saw the digieggs fall from the sky after we defeated D Reaper. That was an alien enemy that attacked us and destroyed the digital world."

I look up again and watch as the eggs fall endlessly. There are so many of them, and they continue to fall without slowing down at all. "So… does that mean…"

"It could mean anything, Takato."

My peripheral vision scans something it hadn't before. I turn my attention to the horizon once more, and again a black figure looms just beyond reach. But this figure doesn't move closer like the last. This figure stands in awe-inspired shock and is rooted to its spot. Suddenly, more black figured erupt from beside my figure and approach from the horizon. There are screams, shouts, and joyous ovations. But my eyes remain locked on the figure. As my eyes adjust to it's distance and the light I begin to realize something great.

There are no words exchanged. There is no visible recognition of the fact. There is only the feeling of my feet moving me towards the one thing I have fought for all along. The one thing I've wanted from the beginning. The one person I've been searching for. The one girl that I love. The one love that has been apart from me for far too long. I only see her. I only feel my heart blasting against my body. I only hear the sound of my labored breath as I put it once more to the test. But the distance disappears. And her red hair turns into a blazing fire.

And then… we crash into each other. Pressed against her, the real, authentic her, for the first time since before we left for this world. Holding her to my body I feel her heart beat to a rhythm that matches my own. Our lips catch in a tight embrace and I never want to let go. But I release and the tears stream down without thought. I feel the rush of pain crash into my mind of all that I went through to get here, all that she went through to get to this moment. They roll down my cheeks and off of my face and I just whisper, "I thought I lost you."

Rika squeezes me tighter and just whispers into my ear, "Me too."

"I love you, Rika." I say and I shudder, knowing I had thought I might never again be able to say those words to her.

"I love you too, Takato." She says and holds me tight.

Our moment is broken by a squeaky little voice, "Rika! Rika! Rika!"

We separate just in time for Calumon to launch into the air and bury himself into Rika's chest. She holds him dear and then I realize there are other around us. Henry is holding Suzy and I can see the tears in his eyes and Suzy gabs on and on at him. I can feel his joy, the fear and anguish finally extinguished by holding his little sister again. I can't imagine what's going on his mind, having lost her to the digital portal and never seeing her again, until now. Ryo stands just behind Rika and I take a step past her and we stand three feet between us and look into one another's eyes. He speaks first, "I never doubted you, Takato."

I let out a small laugh. "I couldn't have done it without you."

There is a warm moment between us as respect, admiration and even love is apparent in our words and eyes. He outstretches his arms. I do the same and we close the distance between us into a big hug, one much better than the one we shared in my dream. We separate and turn back towards everyone, which after a few seconds grows silent and I finally say, "So… what actually just happened?"

There is a group chuckle as we realize the story will be long and arduous. But it must be told and there is much to tell. Henry speaks up next saying, "And what do we do now?"

Before anyone can laugh or say anything else Lopmon speaks up, "Well, I think we all need to see something. Back at the base. They deserve to know."

Without another word she turns on spot and walks into a direction I can only assume is where the base is and we all, reluctantly, follow. I take my steps cautiously, unsure of what to expect. I had left the base in such a hurry that if there was something to see, I most certainly missed it.

* * *

It took us all a long time to walk back towards the base so in the meantime we rehashed everything we had dealt with, all that they had seen and overcome while being captive by The Darkness. What Rika and they all went through was absolute hell. It was just pure torture and there was no other way of explaining it. The conversation, however, had progressed to the point of how we planned on getting home now that we had somehow survived. "Well, last time we left via that giant D-Arc," I said.

"Yamaki sent that to us from the real world when we called him on the PDA's." Jeri replied.

The memories slowly build up in my mind again to the moments before Suzy took off for the portal and I recall, "Oh yeah, he told us that we can activate those PDA's any time we need them to get out of harms way. It was Juggernaut. We can use the Juggernaut to get back."

"But where are those PDA's? We haven't seen them since we used them to get away from BlackWarGreymon?" Kenta mused.

That's when Henry spoke up, "Well, we still have our book bags with us."

I interrupted him now, "And the dark versions of you guys stole them from us when you left!"

The memory, the one Ryo had shown me, of what they had done just before and after Dark Rika had broken up with me showed them stealing everything before they left. I had always wondered why they did that and now I knew: the Darkness wanted us to be incapable of communicating with Yamaki and company. They might have pulled us from the Digital World right away. Or maybe they could have done something about The Darkness? Who knows what exactly, but now we had our method of going home! It was all coming together!

"Takato…" Lopmon sheepishly let out. My eyes turned towards Lopmon but they were stolen away from exactly what she wanted me to see.

Despite the falling eggs, despite the rescued friends, despite holding Rika in my arms and feeling her heart beat, despite exchanging a loving moment with Ryo, despite seeing the tears fall from Henry's eyes, despite all of that, there stood a moment frozen in time. A reminder of the pain and anguish this journey had brought us. The pinnacle of the evil of The Darkness. The moment that will haunt me for the rest of my life. He stood there, dying for me, calling out for help, and I just watched him. Standing a few feet away was the frozen statue of Kazu, unmoving and unfeeling.

I felt my heart break and I rushed forward. Jeri cried out and Kenta screamed. The others, bewildered by the moment but feeling also the pain by our response, let out a gasp. I rushed to his side and fell to my knees before him. The pain was overwhelming and once again the tears fell from my eyes. I felt a strange mixture of feelings. Kazu had stood before the gates of heaven and delivered the route to me for defeating The Darkness. He had guided me in my lowest moment, he had died for me and now stood before me as an everlasting reminder of my failure. My failure as a leader. My failure as a person. My failure as a friend. Kazu had done everything he could for me and I had just watched him turned to stone, the same way he was now. Rika, and Ryo, and Henry, and everyone, they were all alive and well. All of the lost soldiers and other digimon that had been held captive by the Darkness, they would all come back through the digieggs. Impmon, I am sure, will come back with the rest of the digieggs. Guardromon will come back. But Kazu is gone. Kazu is really… gone. And he is never going to come back.

Then the voice boomed over me, "Hello, Takato Matsuda."

* * *

A/N: I wanted to get this out before the clock struck midnight on the 25th but I just ran out of time. It's okay though because the original copy of this chapter was choppy and crap. I'm glad I took the time post-midnight to work on this VERY vital chapter of Promise. The title comes from Etta James' magical song about finding your true love. I heard the song for the first time when I saw the movie Wall-E in theaters and I knew, even then, that that song would be the chapter title all these years later for this pivotal moment in Promise: when Rika and Takato finally come back together _at last_. I hope you all didn't think the Takato-Rika reuniting was impersonal, I didn't give it a lot of detail but the detail I did pay to it was very moving, I thought, or hoped. I had this beautiful scene in my head for years so I hope I accurately portrayed it! But I had to move it along because the fact that Kazu is not coming back is central to the story. The characters, and more importantly the readers need to know that this is happening. That Kazu gave his life fighting The Darkness and he won't live through his defeat because he died in such a unique way. In a way, although this story has been told almost exclusively from Takato's point-of-view, the true hero of Promise is Kazu. Because he laid down his life, because he fought and died to defeat The Darkness, and even in death guided Takato to victory, Kazu was the one who will be remembered. I dedicated solid, subtle points of the first half of Promise to giving Kazu an identity, and the second half of Promise I gave him life and events and meaning. So it was very important to quickly shift from, "Hey! We're all alive, this is awesome!" to "Oh my God, Kazu's still dead and he's not coming back." It's vital to the rest of the story, really. I have to say, I am going to have an INCREIDBLY sappy last chapter. Expect a full mental breakdown in the final author's note. I'm about to get REAL emotional with y'all. This story has meant so much to me, words cannot describe. I'm so thankful for all of you have read and continue to read and I hope you have enjoyed it because it's been one hell of a ride. As I said at the beginning, I wanted to get this out yesterday as a Christmas gift to all of you but I just ran out of time but this story will stand for a very long time so in the grand scheme of things, I don't think it will really matter. Just know that I was thinking of all of you at this time of the year! Merry Christmas!

Love Always. Rukato Forever.

"Gentlemen it's time to spread the word, and the word is… _Panic_!"


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